TODAY IS…

a wonderful day to think about the power of our words.

“Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.”  Proverbs 15:4 NLT

There once was a popular commercial for a well-known pain reliever that had as its catch phrase, “Sure you have a headache, but don’t take it out on the kids!”

Setting aside the fact that it was probably the kids who gave us the headache in the first place, let’s look at the very profound truth in that statement.

Far too often in our lives, the pressures and problems of daily life mount up and are sometimes released with unfortunate consequences. Like a volcano that finally succumbs to the pressures within, it all becomes too much and is finally released in an explosive and destructive way.

There is not much that we can do about a volcano except get out of the way, but we can do something about our sudden explosive outbursts that usually do far more harm than good. More than likely we reserve our “eruptions” until we can release them upon someone we love, and very often the recipient of our outburst is guilty only of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Often, the sources of our pressure come from outside the home, but it doesn’t get released until we are there. This is not only unfair, it is damaging to relationships, it creates more problems than it solves, it hurts feelings, and, in most instances, it is totally preventable.

Is it worth the effort to prevent outbursts that wound those we love? Of course it is, but how many of us still lash out and inadvertently hurt those we love the most?

What can we do?

First of all, we need to keep those who are closest to us always in the forefront of our minds. We must thank God daily for our spouses, our children, and our friends. We must express our love to all of them on a daily basis and make sure we are constantly aware of how important they are to us. This will help to give us pause before we explode verbally with hurtful words that leave us unable to undo the damage those words have done.

We also need to turn to God when things first start to build up inside. We must look to Him for the strength to deal with our problems. We must ask Him ahead of time to assist us in controlling our tongues, for we never want to lash out at anyone in anger, least of all those we love.

Preparing for problems before we have them is like keeping a bottle of aspirin in your medicine cabinet. Sure – you’re going to get a headache.

But before you take it out on the kids, reach for God – the original pain reliever.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson