Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.
Proverbs 18:21
There have been years I’ve done the New Year’s Resolution
thing, years I’ve made general goals, last year I claimed my word for the year.
It’s all good stuff. I have little opinions on whether any one method is better
than another. To each his own.
But I do like to embrace anything that will help me drown
the Old Adam. The more creative the better, because that Old Adam, he just
seems to have a really hard time going down.
We all have some perpetual sins. Sins that sit and stay awhile,
and create crotchety old men inside of young women. The Old Adam has his knuckles clenched around these sins, holding strong, screaming, “But I don’t want to change! It’s so hard.
So…much…work…I like my sin. It’s cozy to some extent. It’s familiar.”
I remember Sharla Fritz talking in her book Divine Design
about this concept, likening our Old Adam sins to cozy sweaters that are really
quite itchy and uncomfortable when we stop and think about them.
Words are like this for me. Language. I use so much of it,
and sometimes, in all honesty, it’s not pretty. It’s not cozy, it may be easy,
but sometimes my words leave a wake of sorrow in their path. Accusations,
frustration and anger, ill-conceived mediation in the wrong time and wrong
place. Words. They can do so much good, but wow, can they burn.
This year, I want new words. While searching vaguely around
the Internet last fall, I found an image that stated this simple concept…
Make
Each Word a Gift
Words are powerful. The Bible tells us in Wisdom Literature
that they have the power of life and death. They can build up or tear down.
They can destroy or give grace upon grace.
Many of my words are good. They share God’s love and mercy
with those around me. But enough of my words scream Old Adam enough to poke me
in the conscience and make me want to turn around, to face the other direction,
and by the power of the Spirit to walk the hard path of change.
I want to make each
word a gift.
So, while I was getting ready for the live streaming event
and podcasts through Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, I decided to make myself a
visual. Then I decided that it was something meant to be shared. So, I made a bookmark…one side has gift wrap and
the other side has duct tape (all be it pretty duct tape). Sometimes, my tongue
needs a reminder to just keep it zipped, but more often, I just need to invite
myself to make each word a gift.
Below are the fun bookmarks, in case you feel the hankering for
a visual also. I cut strips of wrapping paper and duct tape the same length
(9.5” x 2”) and stuck them back to back. I attached a gift tag to the top in
order to make it more visual. Blessings on this New Year
with new words!
Labels: kindness, new year, tongue, words
