Wisdom Cries...Answer softly

Proverbs 15:1  A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

Okay, how many of you have stood at the base of a tree looking up into the limbs, watching a hornet nest buzz with activity? Now, how many of you have not just wondered what it would be like to hit it with a rock or a stick? So, how many of you have been stung by a bee as it flees a collapsing home and spots you at the scene of the crime? That, my friends, is stirring up wrath. We all know the danger I just described, whether you have participated in such a risky behavior or not. So why would we do it?

You know what your words can do to someone. You know what buttons to push with some people. You know how harsh or sarcastic you are. Some of you may be saying, "Isn't this the pot calling the kettle black?" Well it's my blog so I can embarrass myself if I want to. I have spent too many years foolishly honing my sarcasm to a razor's edge. Let me be all of the proof you need. Think before you speak. Your words have incredible power to build up or tear down, bring hurt or bring healing. I pray that my journey toward wisdom has forever altered the way I communicate with people, but I still fall and suffer the consequences. I will leave you with this question. What has arguing, cussing, berating, and sarcasm truly gotten you? Wisdom says you can get better.  

There always seems to be so much to say...

I have participated in two other blog ventures and I hate to say it, but they fizzled. I am a wordy person. I love to communicate, mostly by speech, but writing is a close second. You could say that I am a professional communicator as a pastor. With direction from God, I gather thoughts and ideas from Bible study and prepare them in an organized fashion, usually a three point outline, and deliver those thoughts in what I hope is an articulate and interesting sermon. Not only that, but for the last month I have been preparing a power point presentation to further communicate the principles being preached from the Bible. I am happy to say that I regularly carry on conversation with each of my three children and when I say "carry on", I mean carry on. Laughter is a major form of communication in the Wilson home, perhaps the most widely used. We also write notes and cards for one another, not just for holidays. Communication with my wife, that is to say talking, has been a staple of our relationship from the very beginning. In fact, it was the very beginning. Those who know our story know that our "story-book marriage" is the fruit of a prank call gone right. What started as a practical joke ended as a two hour conversation...and it started. We talked on the phone every day for a couple months before we even officially met. We joke about how much we have talked. One memorable occasion is a road trip to North Carolina to visit her grandparents. We were still just dating so we had to drive straight through and we did. We drove straight to North Wilkesboro, North Carolina from Port Deposit, Maryland and as long as the car ran, we talked...and laughed. We had such a great time doing that on the way down that we repeated it on the way back. What can two people possibly talk about for ten hours straight? Twice?

Well, that brings me back to the thought in the title today. Although I seem to always have something to say and I have been planning this blog for the last six or seven months with so many things I wanted to write about, now that I have put keyboard to screen (think pen to paper) all of those wonderful musings have escaped me. One thing is certain, with the life God has blessed me with and the people God has blessed my life with, I will have more to say. Thanks for joining me and check back often to get a daily dose of Perspective.