The tongue also is a fire, a world evil
among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course
of one’s life on fire and is itself set on fire by hell. (James 3:6)
This verse is one of those warnings that needs to be taken
seriously, extremely seriously. Lives are truly in jeopardy, the lives those who
are very dear to you and me.
My Dad owned what was called a machine shop. He produced
small parts used in refrigerators, automobiles and other larger manufactured
products. It was a small shop and sometimes demanded a lot of Dad’s time. On
one weekend, the family was scheduled to do something that was pretty important,
I guess. Dad was working to get something done and Mom and us kids were waiting
in the car. Mom was getting pretty upset and actually crying. She very rarely
cried. I got impatient and went up to get Dad. His shop was on the 5th
floor of a building that rented him the space. When I got there, I told Dad
that he was making My Mom cry. He came down pretty quickly.
A few years later, I was married and we were visiting from
out of state. Dad had sold his shop and was teaching vocational school. They
had a convertible that they enjoyed, very much. One evening Jeannie and I were
borrowing it to go out to some entertainment. As we were leaving Mom said, “Don’t
put the top down, in the garage.” I laughed and said, “How stupid do you think
I am?” and we went outside. Dad followed me out. It turns out that Mom had
tried to put the top down in the garage and done quite a bit of damage that had
to be repaired. Dad repeated my words back to me, “You have made your mother
cry.”
He loved my Mom, and my words had hurt him pretty deeply
many years before. I loved my Mom and I had hurt my Mom, with my words just
then.
Nearly 50 years later I remember those words and the pain
that I caused with proud and careless words. Since then I have hurt others and
some others have hurt me with hasty or proud words.
Emotional and verbal abuse may be the worst kind of abuse. There
are no visible wounds or scars. The wounds are very real and the scars remain
tender for many years. You can be truly sorry. But, you can never take those words back.
Please take these things to your heart. I am.
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