Please watch the video for week one below.
As you watch , use the following notes as an outline to help you record your thoughts.
- Words are powerful and they have consequences
- What starts as a little spark can become a booming blaze, as in the Colorado Black Forest Fire of 2013.
- James 3:2-12 Tells us this about the tongue: It can corrupt our whole body, It cannot be tamed & It cannot pour out both what is bitter and what is sweet.
- Luke 6:45 states that the mouth speaks what the heart is already full of. We need to learn to "mind our spillage"
- In our homes, often the problem isn't how we talk about our family members but rather how we talk to them.
- Our tongues are fire. From where will they be lit: above or below? Are our words a sword or a salve?
- Let's learn to pause before we pounce: to not say something permanently painful just because you are temporarily ticked off.
- Perhaps we need a "force quit" feature for our mouths.
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Thought provoking, huh? Now consider...Is it time to flip your thinking? Instead of just "unloading" the next time you might be angry or frustrated, give yourself a little pep talk while you pause and ponder. Use the comment box below to list some things that you might say to yourself to avoid saying something permanently painful just because you are temporarily ticked off.
Have a great Monday!
Ellen
I might say something like...."How would I feel if I were on the receiving end of these words?"
ReplyDeleteThere are two thoughts that come to my mind at first regarding that question.
ReplyDelete1) Am I really ticked off at this person or this one thing they did.. or is it something else that I'm mad at? All too often we "let loose" on those whom we can (spouses, children, etc) because we feel safer in doing it with them. There isn't as much fear in yelling at our spouse or children versus yelling at our boss or co-worker. Yet when we do so to them - it may be that it is really something or someone else that is the source of our anger - but yet you feel you can't say it to that other person or thing. So perhaps I could ask myself - "Am I really saying my words to the right person?"
2) In similar fashion - Before I say something while being 'ticked off' at someone - I need to ask whether I have ever previously communicated the problem to that person so that they had a chance to help. Usually, to reach the point of spewing hurtful things it means that there has been a build up over time. And so it is something that has gone on for many weeks, months, years. Then when it is let it out - it carries that history of built up frustration. Yet to the other person it is something completely new and unknown. And so it is not fair to that blame and berate that person because you never said anything. The anger you feel is really a result of your own choice not to communicate in the first place. So my question might be, "Is it fair for me to hurt this person with my words for something I never told them about before?"
Is what I'm about to say really worth it? Will this end up hurting one or both of us? How will it effect our relationship? What if the roles were switched - would I want them saying this to me or treating me this way? What would God want me to do right now?
ReplyDelete