sticks and stones.........

Sticks and stones
May break my bones,.
But names will never
Hurt me.

NOT!

Growing up, I was on the receiving end of much name calling. I have to say that YES, the names did hurt. You don’t have to take my word for it. Just look at the Columbine incident and various other incidents in schools across America. The hurt of name calling was manifested by more hurt of school violence by those who were on the receiving end of those hurtful names. So much hate. So much hurt. Why?

Have you noticed how you felt when someone praised your work? How did you feel when they complemented you? Words and actions are powerful. They have the ability to tear down someone or build them up.

What would Jesus do? Let’s take a look.

Matthew 7:15-23
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them.
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?'
Then I will declare to them solemnly, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.'

The next time that you open your mouth with a critical word, pause to reflect on how you deliver it. Constructive criticism is good. Be sure it constructive and not destructive. And, remember positive words build up. Just please be sure they are genuine and spoken from your heart and not empty flattery. The person on the receiving end will be able to discern.

Sometimes, our emotions get the most of us and before we know it the harsh words and statements are flying out of our mouths. What do we do? We don’t mean to hurt members of our family and our friends.

My reflective answer to that is, “It’s forgiveness time.” Time to apologize and ask for forgiveness. If we are on the receiving end, then we must forgive. You know the magic number, seventy-times seven. Peter queried Jesus over two thousand years ago. “Lord, how many times must we forgive? Three times? Then, Jesus hit him with the higher number answer. Seventy-times seven.

Forgiveness. Now that can bring about major change and conversion. But that’s a reflection for another day.

Bear good fruit and build the Kingdom of God.