Tongue of Fire

As many of us have learned as we have grown up “That sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is not true.  Words do matter.  Tone of the words matters.  In actuality words can hurt more than stones.  Bones can heal, but sometimes a person’s heart never heals.  James reminds us of how powerful and important our words are in James 3:5 & 6-

^“5 So too, though the tongue is a small part [of the body], it boasts great things. Consider how large a forest a small fire ignites.  ⁶ And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among the parts of our [bodies]; it pollutes the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is set on fire by hell.”

A little bitty spark leads to a flame.  A flame leads to a fire.  A fire leads to an out of control blaze destroying everything in its path.  Our words do the same.  A word or two can break a heart, damage a self-image, cause someone to lose a job, cause some one to get in fist fight, cause someone to hate another, cause someone to not receive the Lord as their Savior.  Our goal should always be the care and love of others leading to their salvation and growing relationship in the Lord.  We don’t want to be hindrance to someone else’s spiritual well-being.  We dont’ want to bring shame to God.  We want to glorify Him in all ways.  So remember how powerful your tongue is.  With these thoughts in mind it just makes common sense to think before you speak.

It Couldn’t Hurt to Ask

I grew up with the old idiom “It couldn’t hurt to ask” or “It never hurts to ask”.  You see an object at the store that you would really like to get, but it looks too pricey so you walk away.  Perhaps that was a missed opportunity to apply the old idiom.  I know it has worked in my life a few times.  I asked for something for a reasonable price and it was given to me.  In this economy you might find that it will work more often than you think.  How many times as a kid were you not afraid to ask you parents or grandparents over and over again for that ice cream cone as the ice cream truck passed?  How many times did it work?  I know if I didn’t ask I didn’t chance at all at getting the ice cream.  That same wisdom was passed on to us by God.  Read Matthew 7: 7-8.

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

 We need to ask God questions.  We need to ask God for what we need.  We need ask even if we aren’t sure it is something we should even ask for.  Like a child asking for an ice cream on a hot summer day.  An ice cream really might not be the best thing for the child.  Maybe it’s right before dinner.  Maybe a glass of water would really be healthy for the child and quench their thirst and cool them down.  God also tells us that we need to seek or search and we need to knock at the door.  All of these are active steps on our part.  We need to take time to communicate with God.  Just like I use to look for those Chocolate Chip cookies my mom hid from us kids, I need to look for what God has for me.  I need to seek or search out what He has.  I use to knock on my Mom and Dad’s bedroom door and ask them for things.  We need to knock on God’s door and ask.  If Jesus himself told us to ask, seek and knock, don’t you think it would be the wise thing to do?  After all it couldn’t hurt to ask, what is the worst He is going to do to us for asking?  Out of love He is going to give us the best answer, even if that means “No” or “Wait”.

Tongue of Fire

As many of us have learned as we have grown up “That sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is not true.  Words do matter.  Tone of the words matters.  In actuality words can hurt more than stones.  Bones can heal, but sometimes a person’s heart never heals.  James reminds us of how powerful and important our words are in James 3:5 & 6-

^“5 So too, though the tongue is a small part [of the body], it boasts great things. Consider how large a forest a small fire ignites.  ⁶ And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among the parts of our [bodies]; it pollutes the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is set on fire by hell.”

A little bitty spark leads to a flame.  A flame leads to a fire.  A fire leads to an out of control blaze destroying everything in its path.  Our words do the same.  A word or two can break a heart, damage a self-image, cause someone to lose a job, cause some one to get in fist fight, cause someone to hate another, cause someone to not receive the Lord as their Savior.  Our goal should always be the care and love of others leading to their salvation and growing relationship in the Lord.  We don’t want to be hindrance to someone else’s spiritual well-being.  We dont’ want to bring shame to God.  We want to glorify Him in all ways.  So remember how powerful your tongue is.  With these thoughts in mind it just makes common sense to think before you speak.