"We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.
But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire." (James 3: 3 - 5; NLT)
Have YOU ever lost control of YOUR tongue? I could be wrong but I think I can answer that question for you with a "Yes". Am I right?
Most all of us - if NOT all of us - have said things that, almost immediately, we wish we could take back. And, at other times, it may take a few days or even weeks before that regret sets in. But, the fact is, once said, words cannot be "unsaid".
I heard the following story several years ago and it points out just how hard it is to try to recapture words once they are spoken. It seems that a man, in a moment of frustration, said some negative and even untrue things about a person who had been a friend. This man was so angry and frustrated that he told three or four other people. After about a day, he began to regret what he had said and decided to visit the village wise man to seek advice on what he should do. The wise man instructed the fellow to go to each door of those he told the falsehood to, knock on the door and ask who all they shared what he had said. The wise man instruced the gentleman to do this at all three or four people's homes that he had told and then he was to place a feather on the doorstep of each of those people along with the steps of those with whom the story had been shared. At each of these houses he was to also ask if they had shared the story with others and, do the same thing at each of those houses. He soon found that he had placed feathers on the doorsteps of houses all over the town.
As instructed, he returned to visit the wise man the very next day to find out what else he needed to do to try to make this mistake right. His heart fell as the wise man instruced him to now go back and collect all of the feathers that had been placed on the doorsteps. The man expressed his despair since this would be an impossible task due to light winds taking place overnight.
"So it is with your words once spoken." explained the wise man. "They spread beyond your ability to ever recapture what has been said."
We can use all kinds of excuses by saying things like, "I just speak before I think!" which, in reality, cannot be true. You cannot speak it unless you think it first.
The problem is CONTROL.
The way to control your speech is to control your thoughts. And, the way to control your thoughts is to constantly absorb as much positive information as possible.
You control your thoughts which, in turn, can help control your words.
Yeah, I know...easier said than done. Still yet, the goal is to THINK before it's "said and done".
Until next time...
"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"
Mike
