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Wednesday May 7 - Less is more
When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. Proverbs 10:19
I have never regretted those words I didn’t say! I have regretted the words I have spoken rashly, defensively or in retaliation; careless words that often need not have been said.
Someone once remarked: “No wonder we often have a problem with our ‘slippery’ tongues... they are in a very wet place!” The New Testament book of James expounds on the use of our tongues, and warns of the damage this tiny organ can inflict on others (James 3:5-10). I have needed to heed these wise words many times!
The tongue is one of the smallest yet most powerful parts of the body, and the most dangerous. A sword can cut the body, but a tongue can wound the soul. However, it can also be a ‘fountain of life’ as we read on Monday. For many the greatest riches we treasure in our hearts are the kind and encouraging things others have said of us – those kind, life-affirming words that flow like a fountain into our hearts and souls.
How can we control the things we say, especially in the heat of the moment, when ‘words are many’ and we may feel the need to engage in the fray? Remember, we can never un-say the things we have said. Taking just a moment to hold our breath is like ‘holding our tongue’... to let silence take the place of words.
Father God, please teach me that sometimes silence speaks louder than words. Help me to ‘hold my tongue’ when I need to! Amen.
Thursday May 8 - Nourishing words
The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgment.
Proverbs 10:21
At times it seems as if our society is experiencing a famine – not of food but of kind, encouraging, affirming words. Jesus says he is “the Bread of Life” (John 6:35); how we need to find nourishment in the words he spoke and to pass them on to others. Each day we have opportunities to nourish those around us with a word of kindness or encouragement.
Just as we can see if someone is hungry, undernourished and in need of food, I believe that the Holy Spirit can lead us to those in need of a kind and affirming word... a checkout cashier; a receptionist at a doctors’ surgery; a frazzled mum at the school gate; someone waiting in a queue next to us. Bringing the nourishment their lives need through the kind words we speak... who knows where that might lead?
Jesus is our example in doing this, in his encounter with a lady so in need of nourishment in John 4:1-42. Jesus went out of his way to encounter her (v 6). He knew her need for the nourishment only he could give, and it started with a conversation. Never underestimate the impact of your words. You have opportunities no-one else will have, in encountering the people you will meet today and saying a kind word that could change the course of someone’s life!
Father God, please help us to bring nourishment to those around us with words that come from you. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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