Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Taming the tongue Tuesday!



Recently sitting in a group of women, I had come with no expectations as to what was to happen. Feeling good about the morning, I placed myself on a typical classroom chair...
and then while trying to work on things in my life that aren't pleasing to God...

A "comment" was made.

It only really takes
ONE FLIPPANT COMMENT
doesn't it?
Some careless word out of a person's mouth to turn the tide
of how you feel on the inside.

Was I too sensitive?
or
Was that a "little dig?"

I asked a friend later...did they hear the same thing? Was that a dig? And unfortunately...it was!
What's a little dig?

Something that someone else says that's meant to PUT THEM
above you! Often it's done subconsciously!

They (and you and me too)...feel insecure about something...or just insecure in general...
OK...maybe the real root is PRIDE...They (you, I) feel prideful so...
when talking we might say...

"Boy you've lost weight, keep it up you've got a long way to go...what you say another 20 lbs...do you think I look big in my size 2 shorts?"

or

"Wow...I don't know why you don't get another computer and come into the 21st century...man it's just money! Sometimes with my paycheck I have so much left over I can't figure out what to do with some of it!"

or

"Out little Timmy got another academic award, it's so hard to take off work for all those award ceremonies...You know I don't see you there...like ever...didn't you say your son was in tutoring? How's that going for you?"


I'm NOT LYING folks! I have heard all of these come up in conversation!
Between Christians!

A "little dig" really isn't a little dig at all.
While we're really trying to turn the spotlight on ourselves...
we're stepping on another sister trying to get to the lightswitch!

God doesn't tolerate little digs in our speech!
It's a sign of pride...
and you know where the prideful end up...

Remember the Pharisees looked "religiously"
perfect on the outside. They attended church each
time the doors were open. They tithed their 10%
and then some. They were prominent in church activity,
civic activity, and were considered "sinless" to the casual observer.

But on the inside... wretched, prideful.
And when we, like the Pharisees get prideful
it seeps out

In "little digs!"
We sin against God and cause other Christians to stumble...
God wants us to put away the little digs...

1 Peter 2:1 says...
Put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy
and envy and all slander.

Little digs can really get a person down.
After that encounter...I tell ya...
I thought... OK, I'm outta here!
And that's just what the enemy wants...us focusing on others and not GOD!

How many people have we turned off with our mouths and we didn't even realize it?
We might look good on the outside...but those "little digs" reveal the prideful hearts we have.

Are you still here...that's pretty heavy!

Well that's the problem...what's the solution?
Brokenness. Be humble and broken in your speech
... you'll never have a problem with "little digs"!


Psalms 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart,
O God, thou wilt not despise.


Lord, let me be broken person...a person who cares about others when I'm talking to them...not just my own agenda...let me not be filled with "little digs"...
In Christ name...Amen!



4 comments:

Lorrie said...

I gonna just put this out here...because I'm being real...the last little dig example was one I made a few years ago...oh there have been others...it's just the first one that came to mind! Oh...but can I say my "little Nathan" got a math award last week...can I say that?...he doesn't get awards often and I am proud of him! That's not a dig...that's just being a proud mama! The difference is you just give the facts, no commentary or comparing!

Bethany said...

I once heard that Christians should have a hard shell and a soft center. I try to take that to heart, feeling tenderness toward others but letting the "digs" roll off my "shell". That's hard to do sometimes, though, isn't it?

Lorrie said...

You are so right! We need to have a hard shell for things coming at us and a soft center for what we say to others and having compassion in general!

More Than Words said...

I never understood how people can just blurt things out like that. But, I believe it is just insecurity. It's sad when other Christian's break each other down instead of building each other up.