"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:29
Oh, how this verse has hit our home this week! Our kindergartner was angry. He had a bad day at school. And then he got in trouble at home. Double trouble. Discipline was a'comin' and he wasn't happy about it.
So, precocious little guy that he is, he decided to lash out verbally and the unlucky recipient of his frustration was his older brother. "Mean words, ugly words, blah, blah!" (I'm paraphrasing.)
What?!?!? You have GOT to be kidding me. Who taught him to talk like that? Why would he think that is OK? Sure, he had a bad day, but slinging angry words at his brother wouldn't make it better. Turns out, it made it much worse.
Unfortunately for him, both his daddy and I heard his tirade...and more discipline was a'comin'! In case you were wondering, it takes a kindergartener a very long time to write "I will speak blessings" 50 times.
So now I'm examining my own speech. I'm not given to fits. Never swear. Don't even raise my voice very often. But do my words build up according to the needs of those around me? (Do I even know their needs?) Is what I'm saying beneficial? I give a lot of instructions to my boys. But are my words edifying and helpful? Life-giving and uplifting? Hmmm. I think I've got some sentences of my own to write.
I will encourage. I will edify. I will repent. I will apologize. I will change. I will definitely encourage my little red-head as he learns to control his tongue. And I too, will speak blessings.
Gayla, I can not imagine one of your precious boys doing this but it sounds like you handled it calmly with graceful tact- you are a great example! As for me, I never say things I shouldn't just ask my husband or better yet my sister-at this point she still lived with me longer than he has!
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