Scripture

There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword,
But the tongue of the wise brings healing.

~Proverbs 12:18, LSB

Quote

Our words are worth only as much as our Character.

~David W. Wiersbe

For me, one of the most disturbing verses in the Bible is Matthew 12:36, But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. I like to think about heaven but not the judgment. Unfortunately, I speak a lot of careless words and I do believe that Jesus words above will be carried out. It is so easy to speak careless words; it is very natural for me. As I was reading David W. Wiersbe’s thoughts on the subject, I began thinking about all the words that are hard for us to say.

The first one that popped into my mind was “Thank You.” How many times a day do we say thank you? I sit down to a delicious breakfast every morning and often fail to say thanks, not just to the LORD above but to my wife who is behind me. I get up and sit down. That is about the extent of it; sometimes I puch the button to start the coffee. I have no desire to eat out, I get two pieces of sour dough toast every morning, two hen apples over light and a quarter pound of bacon. Why would I want to go to Hardee’s? Before I could write this blog, I texted my wife and thanked her for fixing my breakfast. “Please” is another word we have trouble using. Hey, it is about to get worse. We have a real hard time saying “I am sorry”… “Its my fault”…“Forgive me”…“I was wrong.”

Years ago there was a TV show called the LOVE BOAT. You would have to sedate me to get me to watch it now but that was back in the day when I watched certain things just to please my wife. Ted Knight was the guest star in the episode I am referring to, and he was on the cruise ship {Love Boat} to get married. He had been to the altar several times but all ended in failure. He couldn’t complete the phrase “I do,” which was a part of the wedding vows. He would say, “I-I-I” but he couldn’t finish.

When did you last say, “I am sorry?” Is it that you don’t make mistakes or that you have too much pride to admit that you did make a mistake. Some people can not say, “My fault; I am sorry, please forgive me.”

I went for 27 years without ever hearing my father say “I am sorry,” or “I made a mistake.” June’s dad gave the kids an old belgium mare and she had a colt. Daddy had a bottom that was growed up and so I put the horses in the bottom. He didn’t like horses. He said they ate too much and without my permission or knowledge, he sold the old mare. I usually went home once every couple of weeks and the first thing I did was check on the horses. I come in, spoke to mother and then started out the back door. She said, “Son, where are you going?” I said, “To check on the horses.” She said, “There are no horses, your daddy sold them, didn’t he tell you.” I said, “He mentioned it but I told him I could not sale the old mare, she was a gift from June’s father.” It upset me and I got in my car and went home {82 miles to Cherokee}. Mother was upset also,  and more so than myself. When daddy came in, he got a royal chewing and then the silent treatment. A few days later I get a call from my brother who said, “You have got to come home and fix this…Mother is not speaking to Daddy and he is going crazy.” I told him I would come the next day. Daddy was waiting on me…pacing back and forth in the back yard…his voice was shaky but the first words out of his mouth was…“Son, I am sorry, I had no right to sell the horse. I made a mistake.” He sold the old mare to the glue factory so there was no getting her back but he was right about one thing: we couldn’t afford to have horses. My words to daddy were... “Daddy, you still treat me like I am a small child and I want you to respect me as a man. You should have honored my wishes, but we are going to forget the whole thing, and I will tell mother that everything is OK.” That one conversation changed our relationship for the rest of Daddy’s life. I admired him for admitting that he had made a mistake. It is not a sign of weakness to admit you are wrong.

Extra

Praise the LORD we are getting rain. We are very close to the half inch mark as I speak. It is a gentle drizzle, just what we need. Thank You Jesus! My Tractor quit on me on Monday. I was using it and it just shut down. The John Deere folks are coming to get it today, I hope. I have no idea what is wrong. We got 35 gallon of diesel fuel yesterday [Krogers in Decatur} for less than 4 dollars. I think it was 3.44. That will do me till Christmas.

One of our preacher friends Joe Holmes had a grandson in the Marines and he drowned. We don’t know any details but Joe has been through a lot the last few years.

I hope you have a great day and I hope you are getting this much needed rain. Thanks for reading the blog.