Daily Reflections, Friday, January 29, 2010

Today's Scripture: Proverbs 15:1

The cause of Christ is not advanced by our unchristian-like behavior. There is great power in gentleness but we don’t want to see it sometimes.

One of the characteristics of Christ was that He didn’t strive with others. While He sometimes rebuked His disciples and the Pharisees and Sadducees, He never did it without just cause.

Remember that kind words never hurt anybody. They don’t hurt the person receiving them and they certainly don’t hurt the person giving them. Cold words freeze people. Hot words burn people. Bitter words make people bitter. But what do gentle, peaceable words do? They help, heal, and restore others.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we would cultivate a genuine, sweet spirit? This isn’t easy because it is simpler to blow up than to take the high road and answer peaceably. But we do need to keep our “goat”—that part of us that can’t answer peaceably—at home or in a place we can’t access.

We need to keep peaceful and gentle words at the tip of our tongue all the time instead of hot, hasty, and bitter words. We need to ask Jesus to help us temper our harsh spirits. Learn to have gentle and kind words…today!

The best test of a man’s doctrine is the application of it in his life. — Unknown Author