W hen God created the first garden and gave Adam and Eve all the fruits of the garden for food, God also gave them sweet-tasting food, not bitter ones. Similarly today, we enjoy good- tasting food, but when something tastes bad in our mouths, we know and immediately spit it out. The same applies to our other senses – whether something feels, looks and sounds good or bad, we can discern and accept or reject them accordingly. In the same manner, words can also be sweet or bitter to the hearer. In fact, we speak and listen to words more than we eat and drink daily. Therefore, words are a powerful means of communicating not just knowledge but also emotions and feelings of the speaker. Imagine two people quarrelling. What kind of words are normally exchanged? Certainly destructive and angry words, full of cursing and bitterness. Words that hurt not just the ears but pierce through the hearts of its hearers. A father who tells his child he is useless and will never do well in life may be even more hurtful to the child than physical punishment. Worse, the child learns to do the same to others, using hurtful and bitter words as he grows up. Thus let us use our words wisely, being careful not to cause unnecessary hurt to others. Avoid bitter and hurtful words. Rather, use words that build each other up, to encourage one another. In so doing, we show forth God’s love so that others may see the Lord Jesus Christ in us.
LESSON
Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness
THOUGHT
Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. – Romans 14:19
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