Our Words As Garden Tools - Part I

For those that have well-kept gardens (such as my parents) they are beautiful and very productive. For those that don’t have the best kept gardens (such as ours that has been neglected for 3 weeks due to being out of town - what a pitiful sight) -- well, they’re not too beautiful, nor as productive! Beauty in a garden doesn’t just happen. There’s the many hours of manual labor, gardening tools, water, sunshine, rain, weeding, tilling --there’s A LOT that goes into having a beautiful, well-kept garden.

One thing is for certain though, certain gardening tools are needed to keep it looking beautiful. Gardening tools can be used for good, or they can be misused. Let’s think about our words - like those tools - that can be used for good, or they can do great harm. We must learn to use our words wisely. Let’s learn some lessons from gardening tools.

1. Garden Shears - Don’t Use Cutting, Harsh Words

Ps. 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”

Proverbs 15:1 “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”

Proverbs 31:26 “She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.”

Proverbs 18:21a “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…”

(Some other verses to look up are: Proverbs 12:18-19; Proverbs 13:3; Psalm 52:4; Proverbs 10:32

When we are upset or do not like something someone has said or did toward us, it is so easy to let cutting words roll right off our tongue, isn’t it? They come so easy. Normally our attitude is we just want to ‘get back at them’ but that isn’t Christ like is it? We should desire to speak words that heal. We should desire to guard our lips and speak with wisdom. Our deepest desire should be to only speak those words that are acceptable in the sight of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! Ps. 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”

Tomorrow we will look at: Shovel - Don't Shovel Out Dirt About Others (GOSSIP)