Sticks And Stones!

Whoever said, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me” was not entirely right. The truth is that words can hurt a lot and, unfortunately, hurting words are not always avoidable. Sometimes people come across them when attempting to find out what others might be saying about them.

Solomon advised…
“(21) DO NOT TAKE TO HEART ALL THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE SAY, lest you hear your servant cursing you. (22) Your heart knows that many times you have yourself cursed others.” ( Ecclesiastes 7:21-22 ESV)

We might not want to hear what all people say or think about us! After all, have we ever spoken something about someone that -- though it was true or at least our opinion -- they would not want to hear? None of us always says what is right, never erring. We struggle with the tongue from time to time allowing messages to slip out we could have expressed in a kinder way. Also, to base our actions on such statements or reports is not healthy. We can always find someone who says good things about us, but we can also find others who may not be as kind.

In 2 Samuel 16:5-14 we find an example of David NOT ALLOWING THE WORDS OF ANOTHER GET TO HIM. He could have. He could have done something about it and even had someone offer to take care of the situation for him. DAVID CHOSE TO LET IT GO. [Read the passage and you’ll see.]

There are times when something is said that the best option might be to CONSIDER THE SOURCE and ignore it. We should guard against being too quick to listen to evil reports either about ourselves or others. If we are not careful we can either be easily hurt by taking everything personally or we may get drawn into the gossip circle ourselves.

What might Solomon advise? First, don’t be nosey with other people’s conversations. Secondly, it may be better at times to simply let some things either just go over our head or in one ear and out the other. Such action can aid in taking the sting from the words this world may throw at us.

Have a great day GIVING CONSIDERATION TO YOUR OWN WORDS!
Carl

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[This focus was originally sent 08/12/1998 (Edited some with passage changed to ESV)]

See other teEn-MAIL on Words