“One self-approving hour whole years outweigh.”

ALEXANDER POPE



“A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.”

PROVERBS 12:16 NIV



These words of Solomon are speaking to me today. It seems that when I am annoyed by someone, someplace, or something, I always open my mouth and let words fly that often I regret. Even if my words are salted with kindness and grace the sting that they may carry always seems to sting me also. I know for a fact that often when someone else is the object of my annoyance, the stinging effect of my words on my own heart are deeper, longer lasting, and more painful than their effect on their intended victim. In my life the skill of studying my words before I speak is a life long process, and just when I think that I am making some progress out will come words of annoyance that have been honed on the grinding stone of self-approval. Once I click on the “send” tab of the computer of my mind, the words cannot be retrieved. I have learned much about social behavior from my family, peers, church, and school, but some of the best teachings I’ve learned about getting along with others, has come from the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. Just not drinking is but a beginning. In order to stay sober I must clear away the wreckage of my past and get along with those people, places, and things that I encounter in my life. One hard lesson that I am learning is that even when my rights are violated, if I speak too quickly, and use words that have been sharpened, often I am the one injured and wounded by my own pain. Not only do I feel the pain from someone else that has been directed at me, I also feel the pain of my own thoughts and words. Double the pain, for the single price of one experience. The words of Bill W. echo through my thoughts, share this with me.

“It is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us. If somebody hurts us and we are sore, we are in the wrong also. But are there exceptions to this rule? What about ‘justifiable’ anger? If somebody cheats us, aren’t we entitled to be mad? Can’t we be properly angry with self-righteous folk? For us of A.A. these are dangerous exceptions. We have found that justified anger ought to be left to those better qualified to handle it.”

I am not qualified enough to handle anger without hurting myself. My uncle Elmer use to tell me to just “let annoyances run off like water on a ducks back.” That’s hillbilly for the words of Solomon “a prudent man overlooks an insult.” Today may I learn that many words are like a two-edged sword, they are able to cut as I speak them, and also as I hear them myself. If I concentrate today on listening and not so much on speaking, God will do for me what I could not do for myself……………JRE



“If you focus on the past, it won’t be long before complaints start oozing from your lips. You will remember a long-ago time, bathed in a hazy, rosy glow of memory, when something was easier and more comfortable than it is today. And as you compare then and now, I guarantee it, you will grumble.

“I do this; so do you. But it’s so foolish. We look back nostalgically on what was once a pleasant situation, at which time (even then!) we were looking back longingly on a more pleasant earlier time. That’s dumb isn’t it? You may be grumbling right now about your current situation. But chances are good that two years from now you’ll be looking back on this moment and saying, ‘Oh for the good old days! Boy it was great back then, wasn’t it?’…..

“Stop! We live in the light of some dreamy past leisure of pleasure, when in actuality God continues to show Himself strong all along the way.”

CHARLES SWINDOLL…………..Moses: A Man of Selfless Dedication