Saturday, December 21, 2013

WORD!


 “Whoever said sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you,” was wrong. 
 
If we have learned anything this week it is that words can bite you.  From a long-bearded Louisianan to a jet-set PR exec, we can learn a valuable lesson about watching what you say. 


No matter which side of the “issues” you stand on, the truth is what you say can hurt you.  The Apostle Paul said “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”  Have you ever banged a gong?  It is noisy.  It demands you hear it.  Once it is hit, it is hard to ignore. 
Words are like that. 
 
 

 
 
Any words, no matter if they are truthful or not, spoken without love have the potential to create problems. It doesn’t matter if they are tweeted, facebooked, or spoken.  If they are given without love or deference to the potential audience (and that could be world-wide) they can be volatile. 
 
One of the wisest men to ever live said it like this, “Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions.  Wisdom is found in the words of the discerning person, but the one who lacks wisdom will be disciplined.”(Proverbs 10:12-13)
 
I’m not saying don’t have convictions.  I’m saying start your convictions with compassion.  Compassion is defined as a sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it.  Humaneness, kindhearted, kindness, pity, empathy and understanding. 
 
 This season we celebrate the WORD becoming flesh.  What was that WORD like?  He loved so much he died for the ones who hated him and his message.  Are you willing to die for those who oppose your message?  Or are you quick to write, tweet or blast them with your words?  The last time I checked, bombs do damage.  They destroy things and people.  Your words can do that. 

So the next time you feel the need to speak on an issue, ask yourself, are the words you are using from the WORD?