“You’re familiar with the command to the ancients, ‘Do not murder.’ I’m telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother ‘idiot!’ and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell ‘stupid!’ at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.” (Matthew 5:21-22 The Message Bible)
Read the scriptures above and the lyrics found below; words composed in 1868 by H.R. Plamer; the second verse of Yield Not To Temptation below. Research other passages during your “Ain’t got nothing to do time,” passages that relate to name calling.
Listen! Regardless of one’s rank in society, regardless of one’s perceived power, and regardless if one is living from paycheck to paycheck or living with plenty and consequently there is an absence of any concern about making it from day today, regardless of one’s place in society and regardless if you have a big social media following or if the you just have a few folks that follow you, know that God’s inspired word has set the standard for all who call themselves a child of God. Let me continue!
Regardless of what you see modeled before you on the news or what you hear on nearby places, let us, you and me, commit today to governing ourselves by God’s word when it comes to name calling. Think about this, my friend! Be blessed!
“Shun evil companions; bad language disdain. God’s name hold in reverence, nor take it in vain. Be thoughtful and earnest, kind-hearted and true. Look ever to Jesus; He’ll carry you through.”
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King
This is a great reminder. Let us build one another. You never know who is hurting around you. If you can’t find words to comfort someone, kind gestures always help. Let God do the rest. 😊
I like the latter advice. Name calling or any unkind words are not constructive. Even criticisms can be done without hurting someone.
Generally, I don’t consider myself a name-caller. Yet on our way to Mentoring/Tutoring, I casually described a driver that was jeopordizing the safety of others by their aggressive tactics as “stupid”. I quickly remembered that we studied that topic in Sunday School a few weeks ago. We learned that we can murder/kill someone with words. I immediately asked the Lord for forgiveness as name-calling was exactly what I was doing. I want to govern myself by God’s word.
God knows controlling our tongues is a problem. That’s why He inspired James to elaborate on that in His epistle. You examined yourself internally. The good thing is that you did not do it publicly or externally to promote conflict. We all have to manage our words, so easy to say things, including name calling.