Sunday, January 12, 2003
Signs of Unrighteousness
I made it to church a bit early today (which is far more rare an occurence than it probably should be ^^;;) so I had a chance to do my one chapter of Romans today before the service started. Verses 12-14 were especially interesting to me:
This emphasis on what we say as a sign of unrighteousness really struck me because I know that I don't think nearly as much as I should before I speak. A lot of times I say things in irritation and even though my words might not be too bad, my tone often is at those times.
Not only that, but when I was reading "Boy Meets Girl" (I think that was the book, it might've been something else) there was a section that talked about how we should make an effort to truly listen to people rather than just waiting for a chance to have our say. So I guess I've been getting a lot of what you could call signs that I should be paying close attention to what comes out of my mouth.
So far I've simply been trying to talk less. I'm hoping that if I get into the habit of keeping my mouth shut I'll also start to develop the trait of really considering what I want to say--is it helpful, encouraging, or useful to others? I'm also hopeful that by thinking about what I want to say I'll be able to start developing a heart like God's. See, a lot of times I'm very carelessly insulting or sarcastic, and I don't think much about how my offhand, joking comments will make people feel. If I spent more time thinking about these things maybe I could not only stop myself from making possibly hurtful comments, but also train myself to start thinking about how God sees people and how he would speak to them.
Am I making any sense? Geh. This time it seemed a lot clearer to me before I starting writing this post. ^^;;
I made it to church a bit early today (which is far more rare an occurence than it probably should be ^^;;) so I had a chance to do my one chapter of Romans today before the service started. Verses 12-14 were especially interesting to me:
| "All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." "The poison of vipers is on their lips." "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." |
This emphasis on what we say as a sign of unrighteousness really struck me because I know that I don't think nearly as much as I should before I speak. A lot of times I say things in irritation and even though my words might not be too bad, my tone often is at those times.
Not only that, but when I was reading "Boy Meets Girl" (I think that was the book, it might've been something else) there was a section that talked about how we should make an effort to truly listen to people rather than just waiting for a chance to have our say. So I guess I've been getting a lot of what you could call signs that I should be paying close attention to what comes out of my mouth.
So far I've simply been trying to talk less. I'm hoping that if I get into the habit of keeping my mouth shut I'll also start to develop the trait of really considering what I want to say--is it helpful, encouraging, or useful to others? I'm also hopeful that by thinking about what I want to say I'll be able to start developing a heart like God's. See, a lot of times I'm very carelessly insulting or sarcastic, and I don't think much about how my offhand, joking comments will make people feel. If I spent more time thinking about these things maybe I could not only stop myself from making possibly hurtful comments, but also train myself to start thinking about how God sees people and how he would speak to them.
Am I making any sense? Geh. This time it seemed a lot clearer to me before I starting writing this post. ^^;;
