Sticks and Stones

Proverbs 18:21, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

Have you heard the saying, “Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never harm you?” This is the biggest lie ever told to children. I understand why we teach our children this, but it is so not true. Words do hurt and once they are said out loud, they are awfully hard to take back. They are out there. Hanging in the air. Stored in your mind and weighing on your heart. Words can either speak life or speak death. Our tongues can build others up, or they can tear them down. Choose kindness above all things. It not only lifts them up, but it also lifts you up.  Proverbs 11:17 says, “Your own soul is nourished when you are kind, but you destroy yourself when you are cruel.” 

Because of social media the ability to comment on someone’s post is so easy. We type something and move on to the next post. We do not see the person’s face or reaction to our comment. This gives us the false sense that what we say in our comment does not matter, but it does. Written words hurt just as much as spoken words. In fact, most people will go back again and again to read the hateful words that somebody wrote. If you do not have anything nice to say, you should probably not say anything at all. Just keep scrolling by. For Proverbs 11:12 says, “It is foolish to belittle a neighbor; a person with good sense remains silent.”

Negative words spoken or written are so much easier for anyone to believe than the good stuff. But the good stuff can make such a difference in someone’s life that you should be looking for ways to speak life. Speak love. Speak salvation. Speak grace. Proverbs 16:24 says, “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”

Jesus was very clear in Matthew 12:35-37 about the consequences of your words.  He said, “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”

I know that you are probably a good person, but do your words reflect that? Take time today to reflect on that question.

Jesus, thank you for coming to save me from my sins. I have said things that have hurt people. Please forgive me for my careless words and give me the wisdom to think before I speak moving forward. Help me to speak life and love to those around me. AMEN.

The Wise and the Fools

Proverbs 13:20 “Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.”

I am raising my three teenage sons and on any given weekend there are at least 3-4 other teenage boys at my home. Let me tell you, some of the conversations I hear are crazy. These guys will talk about anything and everything around me because I have worked hard to let them know that my home is a safe place for everyone.

I have a huge burden on my heart to witness to these young men since God has placed them in my path. They all come from good families and have wonderful parents but “crowd mentality” is a real thing and sometimes they can get off on a wrong path and open the door to trouble. I do not preach to them, but I do redirect the conversation and encourage them to see the situation from a different point of view, God’s point of view. It is so important to help your children, your family and even your friends to identify when someone is being wise and when someone is being a fool because if you “walk with the wise” you will become wiser but if you “associate with fools” you can get into trouble.

The character and behavior of the people you allow into your life are also important. Proverbs 22:24-25 says, “Don’t befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people, or you will learn to be like them and endanger your soul.” I am not saying you should not witness to people like this, but it is a slippery slope to think you will be able to change someone to be different than who they are when you first meet them.  You see, YOU cannot change them, only GOD can. You can be the wise person, doing the right things and following in the footsteps of Jesus. Others will see who you are and notice there is something different about you and your home.  It will draw them in, and they will want to know what makes you different. Then a natural conversation about Jesus can come up and the Holy Spirit will do the rest.

Dear God, thank you for providing us with the best example of what it is to be wise through your son, Jesus. And thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to take over where I fall short. You have the best plans for everyone. Please help me to open my eyes to see what you are doing. Amen.

Provisions

Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in Glory in Christ Jesus.

Provisions. The Lord provides in a time of need. This past week was exceedingly difficult. Even more difficult for me than the pandemic has been. You see I live in Texas and we had the worst winter storm I have ever seen in my lifetime last week. Most everyone in my neighborhood either lost power or had rolling blackouts for days. We either lost water due to pipes bursting or had to boil our water due to possible contamination. The temperatures were below freezing for days and even got down to zero degrees. The roads were icy, the stores were closed due to blackouts or wiped clean of all fresh food. The internet was down when the power was off and cell phone service was sketchy. We were just not prepared for that kind of weather for that long in Texas.

But the Lord provides. Our neighborhood Facebook page became a communication tool for people offering hot food or a place to warm up. Neighbors were offering neighbors free firewood or a place to charge their phone. If someone found bottled water or a gas station open, they would send out a message so others would know where to go. Then churches in the area started offering free hot meals and bottled water through drive thru lines. This reminds me of what Jesus said in Matthew 6:26. He said, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

We can trust that God will meet our needs even if all our wants are not satisfied. Because let’s be honest, most people want to feel good and avoid discomfort or pain. I know I do. But that may not be what you need. You might need to go through the discomfort or pain to come out on the other side a person that is ready to share their testimony with others. In that case, the Lord may provide you courage to face the problems at hand. Do you have a story that you can share about how God showed up for you this week?

Heavenly Father, thank you for being with me this week when I was scared, alone and didn’t know what to do. Thank you for providing me peace and assurance that no matter what you would provide for my needs. Amen.