This week’s Lighthouse Sisters Devotion is shared with us by another “Jeremiah Generation” voice – Mary Steffy!  (Yes, I’m a proud Mama!)  Mary shares a tough word here from James 1:19-20.  Read on and be Blessed!

 

“My dear brothers (and Sisters) , take note of this:  Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”  James 1:19-20 (NLT)

We all have those days. Those days when your husband messed something up, your children sassed you off, or your siblings gave you a bad time. Those moments you just want to shout back, hurling insults as sharp as knives at your unexpecting victim. Or you really want to talk trash about someone you despise to your bestie behind their back. But we shouldn’t.

We should watch what comes out of our mouths. If we don’t watch what we say, we could say something that we’ll regret later, or end up hurting someone unintentionally in the process.

We should speak life into people and build each other up just like in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 “So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” We shouldn’t speak hatred and malice into each other’s lives. We should have patience and not be easy to anger. If we get angry easily, we can bring ourselves to hurt others quicker. We should be patient and love each other.

So instead of shouting insults to your siblings, you should be calm and collected and think about what to say to them without being belittling and rude. Or better yet, you could just walk away from the situation and calm down. And instead of gossiping about the person you despise, you should say something nice about them or if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all. In the end.

Let’s all speak words of encouragement and live the life God wants us to live.

Mary Bethany Steffy