THINK ABOUT IT
Learning to
T*H*I*N*K
I remember when I was growing up, how I would
hurrying for school every day as my four siblings and I all tried to get out the
door. And I remember one of the things my mom liked to do with us from time to
time was have a morning devotional. Really all this meant was she would read a
verse or a short thought from a devotional book while we swallowed down our
Cheerios or made our lunches. To be honest, all of us kids felt like we were
being forced to take a nasty tasting medicine that was good for you but you
really don’t enjoy. Still, as I look back on this now I’m glad my mom did this
as it started our days off with something good to think about.
Another reason I’m glad is that for some
reason one devotional thought she read has stuck with me for all these years.
The thought had to do with the fact that we need to
THINK
before we talk. By
THINK
I mean that whenever possible, we need to stop before we say something and ask
ourselves the following questions:
Is it
True?
Is it
Honest?
Is it
Important?
Is it
Necessary?
Is it
Kind?
If not, you probably really don’t need
to say it. Too many times we say things without
THINKing and let our motorboat mouths get ahead
of our tub boat brain. The sad truth is, once we let these words out, there is
no real way to get them back in. In Proverbs 29:20 it says, “Observe the
people who always talk before they
THINK— even
simpletons are better off than they are.” (underline, red and caps added;
from “The Message” by Eugene Petterson). While no man may be able to tame
the tongue (James 3:8) by THINKing
we may be able to minimize the damage our tongues inflict. So God bless and may
your day be filled with lots of THINKing.
His…Daryl Miller
Psalm 15:1-3
Lord, who may dwell in
your sanctuary?
Who may
live on your holy hill?
2
He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous,
who
speaks the truth from his heart
3
and has no slander on his tongue,
who
does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman,
(NIV)
Proverbs 18:8
The
words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost
parts.
(NIV)
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