A Matter of Perspective

Are we teaching our young people how to handle anger? Are we showing them how to work well with others?

Every day there is news of a mass shooting somewhere. The world is a scary place. But what are we doing to make it any better? Are we showing our children and grandchildren how to handle life or are we adding fuel to the problem by either our lack of care or our anger-driven rants about how bad the world is getting?

I often find myself in a conflict of feelings. I want my grandchildren to be able to handle their anger, their fear, and their frustration. But how do I show them how to do so when I am often a “fly off the handle” sort of person?

I am trying hard to control my tongue. But the tongue is often a free-wheeling, say what it feels, flapping nuisance that is, well, hard to control.

The Bible in the book of James Chapter 3 talks about how awful our tongues can be. Look at this (and this was written way before my blathering tongue came on the scene!).

“2 Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.

3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. 4 And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.

But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. 6 And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.

7 People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.”

Whoa! The tongue is “restless and evil, full of deadly poison.” Let that sink in. We know it’s true!

We start a rumor, that’s a spark. The rumor grows, that’s the flame. Pretty soon—our life or whomever’s life we were spreading the rumor about—everything is on fire.

How often do we say things that hurt others? Even small things that cut someone down or tear them up. We have to control our tongues.

I am chief of the needing to control my tongue department. I know how hurtful words can be and yet I say them.

Do we want all of these mass shootings to stop? Let’s start by controlling our tongues and teaching our young people how to control themselves and express their feelings without hurting (or killing) others.