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Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to advice … Fools show their anger at once, but the prudent ignore an insult … Rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
–– Proverbs 12:15, 16, 18
Look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire … With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. –– James 3:4-6a, 9-10
There is a brief, anxiety laden pause before you step onto the bathroom scale, an instrument we have arguably assigned far too much power. A fear rises in that moment, grounded in the uncertainty of what that mind-torturing, soulless beast may say to us. We are easily drawn into an obsession with weighing our bodies, but how intentional are we about weighing our words? How often do we check or update our filters?
In Roald Dahl’s classic children’s tale, The BFG, The Big Friendly Giant offers sage counsel to the young heroine, Sophie: “Don't gobblefunk around with words.” Words have tremendous power, a power that if used well can be the rudder that guides a great ship, but also a power that if used thoughtlessly can lay waste to untold lives, much like a fire ravages a forest. James says, “The tongue is a fire … With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God … this not ought to be so. At the end of the day, has your voice revealed a sizable investment in slander or salutation; in judgement or encouragement; in complaint or contribution? The Apostle Paul suggested that “each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor.” So, how would you hope to complete the sentence, Before you speak…? How you answer that question will certainly color your legacy. “Rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Words have the power to wreck or repair, Which ones you use, and to whom you direct them are within your power to choose. So… “Don't gobblefunk around with words.”
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