One day, after coming home from a long hard day at work, I was really tired and did not feel like doing any thing. I definitely did not want to cook or clean. I was lazy to the point of avoiding picking up a big drinking glass to move it out of the way while I was trying to reach for a plastic container from the kitchen cabinet. During the process, I knocked of the glass. It dropped and shattered to hundred of pieces, spreading all over the counter and onto the floor. I spent the next 20 minutes trying to clean up, being careful not to cut my hand. I was afraid the small pieces of the glasses might cut my feet if I accidentally stepped on them. I swept and re-swept. By avoiding the task that probably would have taken no more than 2 seconds, I spent more time cleaning up at the end.
While I was in the process of cleaning up, a thought about the teaching of being careless with words came to my mind. Some time, when we are angry and tired, we become careless with our tongue. Once words are uttered, we can not take them back. By our careless words, we inflict wounds on others, cutting their spirit, causing them harm. Later, we would have to spend much time sweeping up the shattered relationship but we can never totally heal it or put it back to the original condition.
The Bilbe warns us about our tongue saying that the tongue “Is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8). King Solomon teaches us with the following proverb: “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble” (Proverbs 21:23). There are many more Bible verses that teach us to control our tongue like “A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit” (Proverbs 15:4).
In our daily lives, when we face pressures or feel tired, we often become careless in dealing with others, especially those who are closest to us. In these times, we need to take a few seconds to check the words that we speak and exercise caution. Let’s follow the instruction of using “Sound speech that cannot be condemned” (Titus 2:8). May the Holy Spirit help us to use our words to sooth and comfort others instead of cutting their heart and soul. Let us remember that harsh words not only hurt others but also hurt ourselves.
Minh Pham Merideth
