I have a fiery tongue. I am opinionated on many things (btw, what is with the word opinionated? It sounds made up) and tend to speak my mind passionately on whatever topic comes up. (You think public school is the way to go? Wrong! Your favorite basketball team is the Lakers? Stupid! You think pizza is healthy? No way!) Get the point? I am quick to speak.
Ever since I wrote a post on using words wisely, I have been working on holding back my tongue. While there is definite improvement, I still have a long way to go!
The tongue also is a fire... no human being can tame the tongue. James 3:6,8
What does the tongue being a fire mean? Yes, we know that fire is dangerous, especially when out of control. But it also got me thinking... what does happen when fire gets out of control? We get burned! I've done a bit of research on burns for school and know that burns are one of the most painful injuries. Burn victims often develop post traumatic stress disorder because of the sheer pain of burn surgery. In fact, burn victims have support groups because the pain often lasts the rest of their lives. The point is, burns are lifelong.
Maybe I am stretching this analogy a bit too far, but I think if we stop and think about it, it's true. The careless, meaningless words we speak can sting for a long time. But when we purposefully attack and harm others with hateful words, those words can be destroying. They can destroy trust, confidence, happiness. How scary that we can have that impact on other's lives. Think before you speak.
Let your words speak love.
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