The Way to Be Wise and Avoid Arguments

UV 2171/10000 The Way to Be Wise and Worthy
My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue
Psalm 39 v 3

Even in our homes apart from our workspaces, relationships are affected by arguments, contentions, disputes and friction. It affects the atmosphere, productivity and choices. We need to pay attention to the quality of our communications, our ways of interacting and relating with those in our inner circle. The way to guard our mouths is to first fill our hearts with the Word. The Word in our hearts is the “coal of heaven” with which the tongue of the anointed is touched even as the prophet Isaiah’s tongue was touched and anointed to speak the prophetic word to Israel. It burns, refines, purifies and cures the tongue. As St James, the biblical specialist on the tongue, wrote: “Both sweet and bitter water ought not to flow from the same spring.” Our tongues are to be springs of healing, deliverance, instruments and media to spread the good news that Jesus is waiting to come into our lives to give us the high quality, abundant and eternal life. Being convinced and convicted of all this, the manger leader remains still in the face of disputes, conflicts, arguments. As sorrows and other provocative issues stir up, he first quietens himself. Then, he meditates on the word. As he meditates, the word will begin to burn the negative thoughts, words, attitudes and actions. As he meditates, his heart will be filled with fire and wise counsel. He will then seek the counsel of the Lord as to what he should do or speak. Thereafter, he will speak or act or react.

This uni-verse explains why the hearts of the two followers of Jesus walking on the road to Emmaus burnt as they listened to His words. We too need to give primacy or utmost attention to listening to Jesus in any given situation. He is the Wonderful Counsellor. He is the peace giver. Jesus said, “Be perfect because your Father who is in heaven is perfect.” St James wrote that the man who does not err with his tongue or in the words he speaks is perfect. We need to yield our tongues to the control of the Holy Spirit. The tongue that is not under His control is full of ceaseless striving, restless and uncontrollable. It is a deadly evil. It is a spark that can set our whole lives on fire just as a small match lights a fire that can destroy an entire stretch of forest. The antidote is the Word.

If we just think only in human terms about our various situations, we will end up either stressed or depressed. But as we allow the Lord and His word to guide our thoughts, we will feel the sense of upliftment. The human tongue is a source of both life and death. From it we can eat the fruit of life or of death. The fruit of life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and humility. The fruit of death is hurt, strife, conflicts, arguments, bitterness, unforgiveness, misery, sadness, violence, envy, pride, vengeance, destruction, broken relationships.The words we speak are either the seed of the fruit of life or of death. We see the importance the Lord attaches to the human tongue in the fact that the Holy Spirit manifested Himself to the apostles and early believers as tongues of fire.

Prateep V Philip