Snapshots of the Tongue

In one day I was privy to two scenes by accident:
Scene 1:
Waiting in the parking lot for my children to come out of the church from Vacation Bible Camp.
The sewage alarms were ringing because of all the flushing of the day.  After about 5 minutes, a man who works there and his 7 year old son drove up.  He watched his little boy hop out of the truck, cross the road, and push a button to stop the alarm.  As the boy ran back to his Daddy, I heard the dad say "Great job!  Give me five!"

I think that boy grew about four inches in his soul that moment as his Daddy gave him opportunity to succeed and then affirmed him.  And my heart smiled!

Scene 2:
Working out in the garden after the kids were in bed.
A mom, dad, and two little boys, 4 and 2 years old, were walking back from the park that borders our garden.  I must have been hidden amongst the sunflowers, unseen by them.
I heard the mom loudly talking to her four year-old.  I don't know what he did to provoke her, but her words were clear.  "You are four _____ years old and you're acting like a _____ one year old.  I should just take your pants off right here and _____________."  The father affirmed the mother's words with more sentences of the boy's worthlessness and stupidity.

I think that boy shrunk at least four inches in his soul as his Daddy tore at his very identity.  I was buckled over the sunflowers weeping.


"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit."  Proverbs 18:24


Oh, that my words and your words would be life-giving, coming from a heart that is being changed and renewed by the Master of the Word, the Master of Life and Truth, and the Only One who can heal the damage we can create with the tongue.