February 11, 2013
Words With Friends
If words were like money; I wonder how would we spend them?
Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
James 3:5-10
If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
James 1:26
“Sticks and stones only break bones. Words can shatter a soul.”
- Ina Hughs
‘Words with Friends’ is a popular interactive game that many have engaged in through our ever increasing electronically controlled socially interactive medias. I myself have engaged in this cyber game that is somewhat similar to ‘Scrabble.’ Amazingly, or maybe not so amazingly, I have found that on occasion I could make more points using acceptable words, but I don’t because I think the connotation of that word with the opponent I am playing with, could be misconstrued as suggestive or maybe that it could somehow be offensive to them. Isn’t it sad that often we don’t take the same care and caution when we engage in interactive conversations with each other?
And even more importantly, and probably more destructively, we do not use care or caution when we say things about each other when we think that person being referenced is not around or doesn’t hear us: or maybe will not hear about what we have said.
While, as adults, there should be a certain maturity level to which we should achieve to arise in which words of others don’t effect, influence or bother us: seldom do most of us ever reach that level to which we are impervious to the stinging, hurtful or demeaning verbal onslaughts often perpetrated against us, often times by even well meaning people.
The Bible says life and death are found in the power of the tongue. So if our tongues do have that much power to affect those around us; doesn’t it make sense that we need to keep them tamed, control their activities and monitor their output.
Words are indeed very cheap: they have no real tangible monetary value, and we have an endless supply of them at our disposal: but if we want to honor God and each other; doesn’t it make some sense that we should be careful in the ways we use them?
Today’s Prayer
Father, help me to be as attentive, if maybe not even more attentive to my conversation as I am with the words I’m willing to use on a computer game.
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