August 6 – When Words Spill Out
Proverbs 16:32: Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
Sometimes in a moment of rage, we say ugly words which can never be taken back. Such words are like leaves in the wind, they scatter and can never be gathered. It is learned that words are carried in the atmosphere for quite a while. Think how powerful our words are. Sometimes the things we utter can break someone else’s life. On speaking about words, what we write too is equally damaging. Today, words are the most abused on social media. As we cannot see each other, we feel safe to type out anything and abuse people unknown to us. It may give some people a false sense of empowerment for the moment, but its effects are catastrophic.
I am not preaching because I too had to deal with anger….it is not easy.
We have to be so careful not to let our words spill out through our tongues, mobiles or computers because it may hurt other people. Rage on social media often makes people do violent things to innocent people of a community that they are against. It is easy to rant and rave online but revenge on the streets comes out from vicious hearts triggered by social media, so let’s be careful what we write here.
Before we react, wait, pray, take a deep breath, take a walk, do something else. Many times, I am saved me from saying things I would regret simply because I paused and did something else. When I came back later to the same situation with a calm heart, I saw it very differently and did not feel the need to respond or react.
If you have lost your temper and really regret it, this are few good things that will really help:
First tell God your are sorry. Seek grace. If you are able to, ask that person to forgive you. People rarely ask for forgiveness or apologize today, but if we do, we will really get healed.
Pray, have a healthy life of prayer, it really helps us to stop getting angry and also heals the wounds of the angry words uttered.
Read the Holy Book. In the Bible Proverbs is the best book to read when dealing with anger. We see how harmful anger is and we take it seriously. Some people say, “That’s the way I am, people better accept me the way I am” Well, they are wrong, anger damages others, not just ourselves. We have a responsibility. We learn how foolish and broken we are to be angry.
Think and reason to understand the pattern of your anger. Once you understand its root, its power over you will be broken.
Sleep off your anger, instead of reacting, when you get up, you will feel calmer, go for a walk, listen to a message, read a book, watch a movie, exercise. The key is divert your mind so you will not dwell on what makes you angry. If it is chronic anger, like hating a person, racial hatred, a person of another religion, or a family member, go for deeper healing. Go for counseling and make yourself accountable to someone through this process.
Now, if you have said something that you regret, remember there is hope! God has the power to redeems words and He has done so for me many times.With prayer, He takes out the scorpion’s sting from our words. He burns those words and they turn to ashes. He starts to protect the soul from getting word’s lashes. Either your soul or the person who was hurt. The only answer here is prayer. Through prayer, harsh words shrivel into nothingness. We only have to learn how to kneel and God will start to heal! When we learn to control our anger, it is more powerful than ruling a city or being a Raja or Rani King or Queen. Think about it!
Rita
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