Hurtful Words

James 3:5-6 – It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. (MSG)

My grandpa gave chocolate Easter bunnies to my brother and me. I gobbled mine as fast as I could swallow. My two-year-old brother, on the other hand, was still admiring his.

Poke! "You don't want to eat broken bunny ears, do you?" I asked.

"No," he answered. So — I ate them.

Poke! "You don't want to eat broken bunny tummy, do you?"

"No," he cried.

Well, you get the idea. By the time mom got to me, my brother's bunny had only toes left.

Hurtful words are like that. Little by little, they eat away at a person's spirit. Maya Angelou, the American poet, compares this to being nibbled to death by ducks. We are still alive but in great pain.

Prayer – Lord, who have we belittled with our tongues? Bring people to our minds. Lord, we ask Your forgiveness, and we will ask theirs. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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