I have always been a sarcastic person. It just comes out of my mouth before I can even think about it. However I'm trying really, really hard to NOT be anymore. I hear the girls at work being sarcastic to each other and it just sounds.....what's the word....mean? Unnice? It just doesn't build a good environment. Does that make sense? I know for some when they are sarcastic they are trying to be funny or cute but for others they are just mean. The person will say they didn't mean it but did they? Would they have said it otherwise? I'm reading a book right now about how your words affect you and those around you and what God says about it all. (Sorry I don't have the book on me to tell you what it is-I'll get back to you) For some time I've been very interested in our "tongues." Meaning how does our words direct and lead our lives. How does it hurt or help those we are in contact with.
Luke 6:43-45 "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks."
So this scripture is saying that if it hadn't first been in your heart, it wouldn't have come out of your mouth! Hmm....interesting, huh?! So word problems are heart problems. This is why I question when someone is sarcastic. Was I always nice when I was sarcastic? Can you be nice when you're being sarcastic? I don't think so. That's why I'm trying really hard to NOT be sarcastic anymore. I don't want my heart to be filled with meanness or evil or envy or jealously and sometimes I think those are the things that make me be sarcastic.
Galatians 5:13-15 "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command. 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other."
From my notes I have "God has invested words with power"! How can words have power? Well what you say always produces some kind of harvest either now or later. Words can crush the faith of people, destroy their hope, damage their identity and can leave a legacy of darkness in the heart of others. Wow! That's some power. Can you remember a time someone hurt your feelings by what he or she said? Did those hurt feelings last a while? That's power. Those words spoken to you or about you took control in your life and changed you, whether it was temporarily or forever.
In Galatians it says "do not indulge in the sinful nature." Meaning don't have a life driven by self-indulgent desire. A life that runs on the track of my wants, my needs, my feelings. Because then my words go wherever my desires take me.
When I love God above all else then I will know how to love my neighbor as myself. Because it is only when God is in the rightful place in my life that I will treat you with the love that I have received from Him. You can't fix language, communication, or word problems horizontally-you first fix them vertically!
Working with a bunch of people who are sarcastic can easily slide me back into being sarcastic. I have to stop and think about what is trying to come out of my mouth. There is still that darkness in my heart and I'm trying so desperately to get it out. Instead of being sarcastic I try to say compliments and encouraging words. Words that help people get past a rough table or help them get through a rough night. Words that will fill their heart with joy and happiness. I want to build people up, not tear them down.
What is the lasting legacy of your words?
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