A few weeks ago, I found myself cussing in a normal everyday text conversation with a friend. I was frustrated and at my wit’s end and typed what was in my head. I don’t normally use that kind of language. I asked the friend for forgiveness, and with grace, she said she didn’t notice.
She let my “slip” go, but God called me out on it. While making coffee the next morning, I felt His gentle, yet firm rebuke, “If you filtered your words like you filtered your coffee, you’d be a lot more careful what you said.”
I have never been much of a coffee drinker. It just didn’t really appeal to me. Hot drinks aren’t really my thing, and I don’t drink for pleasure. So, whatever I drink is more of a task, and I normally chug it down. In fact, Benny laughs at me for the way I guzzle drinks. We bought java monsters on a trip one time, and I had the can empty before we left the parking lot. Only on rare occasions do I sit and sip.
Right before Sierra left for basic training, she introduced me to iced coffee, and I was instantly addicted. It didn’t have the bitter aftertaste the hot coffee pot brews do. I have since perfected the process, for my taste. I cold brew the coffee for 24 hours, then I filter the grounds and sludge out. I have three containers and strain the coffee no less than four times, then I add my flavoring and finish the process with a small blender cup, which adds foam. Voila! Perfect every time without the bitter aftertaste!
I don’t mind taking the time and effort necessary to avoid the bitter taste of regular brewed hot coffee leaves in my mouth. I can tell you that I don’t intentionally take the same time and effort it takes to filter my words. I have gotten complacent and careless with my thought process lately, and the words that follow are not always Christ-centered and God-honoring.
How many times do I leave others with a hot steaming mug of blah?? How long did they have to struggle with the nasty-tasting mental sludge I leave behind?
***
I heard a story one time of an older woman giving her granddaughter a few pillows. I want you to make a hole in each pillow, take these to each of our neighbors and dump the contents on their porch. The girl did as she was told.
The next morning when they arose, the woman decided she wanted those pillows back and asked her granddaughter to return to each porch and gather the feathers, stuffing the feathers back into the pillowcases. “You must get them all, you cannot miss even one.”
To which the girl responded, “That is impossible!! The wind blew last night, and those feathers are all over the country by now.”
“Exactly,” the grandmother replied. “It is the same with your words. Once they leave your mouth, you can never gather them back up and stuff them back in.”
***
The Bible says words can hurt or heal, they have the power of life or death. Remember the old playground sing-song??
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
As I got older, I realized we had it all wrong. The true chant should be:
“Stick and stones may break my bones, but words will break my heart.”
**The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21
While waiting in a makeshift line during the covid pandemic one morning to get labs drawn, an elderly man wandered too far up the line. A woman (in her thirties) turned and quickly and savagely sent him scurrying to the back of the line. Several other patients applauded her efforts to “put him in his place.” What came out of her mouth that morning was brimming over in her heart. It was mean-spirited, and she played the part perfectly. (I don’t know where he went, because I couldn’t find him after that to apologize for her cruelty.)
**But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. Matthew 15:18
WORDS ARE POWERFUL. They can be used as a healing balm to bandage and heal or as weapons, callous and cruel, inflicting gaping wounds.
I can remember having words spoken over me as a child that made me better, built me up, and might have even changed my life. I also remember words being spoken in anger or cruelty that hurt and will never be forgotten.
“Not the fastest horse can catch a word spoken in anger.” Chinese Proverb
**Kind words are like honey–sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. Proverbs 16:24
Today I would like to experiment with three things when speaking with others…
Stop. No matter what emotion I am experiencing in the moment, I want to stop and listen to what they have to say.
Silent. I want to pause in silence and mentally review what wants to tumble from my lips.
Speak. Only when I have listened to the Holy Spirit and been given the “go-ahead,” do I want to speak, and I desire those words to be helpful and healing.
There are many situations that need to be addressed, but those conversations can still be spoken in love and bring God glory.
LORD, words heal, and words hurt. The words I speak are dwelling in my heart before they spill out of my mouth. Remind me to take as much care with my words and other people as I do my coffee. Maybe if I cold brewed my speech and let it steep the same amount of time I refrigerate coffee, I would look more like You. Examine my heart and convict me where I need to change. Forgive me for speaking in anger or hurt and thoughtlessly wounding others. Help me to stop, be silent, then speak only after heeding instructions from the Holy Spirit. I do not want to speak words of false flattery, only truth, and I want all I say to be spoken in love. I also don’t want to leave “yuck” in the air each place I visit. When I open my mouth, I want to speak life, not death. Heal my hurts and wounds, too, LORD. May every word that comes out of my mouth today bring You glory. Amen.
**Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. Ecclesiastes 5:2
“The tongue weighs mere ounces but show me the man or woman who can hold it.” – Jackie Macgirvin, Angels of Humility
~~ LOL: A friend of mine was just talking and going on and on while getting her hair done one day. When God had had enough of her idle words, her front teeth bridge literally fell out into her lap. She said she will always remember God saying, “I SAID TO HUSH!!!”
LET MY WORDS BE FEW
ON THE PORCH 