I shouted aloud and louder
While out on the plain one day;
The sound grew fainter and fainter
Until it died away,
My words had gone forever,
They left no trace or track,
But hills nearby caught up the cry
And sent an echo back.
I spoke a word in anger
To one who was my friend,
Like a knife it cut deeply,
A wound that was hard to mend.
That word, so thoughtlessly uttered,
I would we could both forget,
But its echo lives and memory gives
The recollection yet.
How many hearts are broken,
How many friends are lost
By some unkind word spoken
Before we count the cost!
But a word of deed and kindness
Will re-pay a thousand-fold,
For it echoes again in the hearts of men
And carries joy untold.
-C.A. Lufburrow
"A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 15:1
I could scream from the highest mountain the wrongs that have been done to me. I could retaliate and defend myself and expose the lies that have been told. But that would do nothing at this point. It is time to change my life and begin truly allowing God to fight my battles. I have been wrong...but I also have been wronged and treated unfairly, misunderstood, misconstrued and flat out lied about. The above poem speaks volumes about the tongue and how you can't take it back once it is said...the wounds cut deep.
