A Piece of My Mind
Sharon was fed up! She asked Michael several times not to track the dirt in the house when he came home from work. Especially on her new floors. What did he do when he came in? He never stopped for a moment to take off his shoes and clumped through the house leaving a trail of mud. She exploded and gave him a piece of her mind. She then stormed out of the house fuming and by the time she got to the pharmacy, she was boiling. The sales clerk couldn’t find her order, so Sharon gave her a piece of her mind too.
Can you identify? How many times have you seen or heard someone giving another person a piece of their mind? Although we don’t know where that phrase comes from, we do know what it means. It means you angrily let someone know exactly how you feel about something in no uncertain terms, not caring how it makes the other person feel.
It’s pretty bold of the mouth to give a piece of the mind away. Since when is the mouth the dictator of our actions? Unfortunately, it’s the day we gave it full reign over our actions. “The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire.” (James 3:5-6)
Yet with this small part of our body, we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. (James 3:9)
The Bible tells us to guard our thoughts and our mind. We shouldn’t give pieces of it away under any circumstances. As I thought about that, I realized that when we give others a piece of our minds, we are actually giving away our peace and disrupting theirs. No matter the situation, we can’t let the enemy steal our peace, influence our thoughts, and control our tongues.
Today, with the pressures of the pandemic and the political and social issues constantly in the forefront, it’s easy to get pulled into negativity and depression. It’s easy for us to use our words to harm and not to encourage. It’s time to slow down and take back control from the tongue. We need to think before we speak and let the Holy Spirit guide us to know when to be quiet and when to speak.
It’s time to dust off the nine fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If we practice these fruits, we will have better interactions with our neighbors and our family. The tongue won’t dictate our actions and we will have peace of mind. Let’s pray for more self-control, more discernment and the ability to capture our thoughts and our tongues.
“The word of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Proverbs 12:18
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” 1 Corinthians 13:1
Prayer
Jesus,
Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with people who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies! Let me be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. With the fruit of the Holy Spirit I will be able to show myself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in my speaking show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about me. Therefore, prepare my mind for action, and being sober-minded, I will set my hope fully on the grace that will be brought to me at the revelation of You, my King, Jesus Christ. As an obedient child, I will not be conformed to the passions of my former ignorance, but as You who called me is holy, I also will be holy in all my conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” I will bring You glory, honor, and praise all the days of my life. Amen!
Photo by Alexandra Mirgheș on Unsplash
Google Doc
Can you identify? How many times have you seen or heard someone giving another person a piece of their mind? Although we don’t know where that phrase comes from, we do know what it means. It means you angrily let someone know exactly how you feel about something in no uncertain terms, not caring how it makes the other person feel.
It’s pretty bold of the mouth to give a piece of the mind away. Since when is the mouth the dictator of our actions? Unfortunately, it’s the day we gave it full reign over our actions. “The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire.” (James 3:5-6)
Yet with this small part of our body, we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. (James 3:9)
The Bible tells us to guard our thoughts and our mind. We shouldn’t give pieces of it away under any circumstances. As I thought about that, I realized that when we give others a piece of our minds, we are actually giving away our peace and disrupting theirs. No matter the situation, we can’t let the enemy steal our peace, influence our thoughts, and control our tongues.
Today, with the pressures of the pandemic and the political and social issues constantly in the forefront, it’s easy to get pulled into negativity and depression. It’s easy for us to use our words to harm and not to encourage. It’s time to slow down and take back control from the tongue. We need to think before we speak and let the Holy Spirit guide us to know when to be quiet and when to speak.
It’s time to dust off the nine fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If we practice these fruits, we will have better interactions with our neighbors and our family. The tongue won’t dictate our actions and we will have peace of mind. Let’s pray for more self-control, more discernment and the ability to capture our thoughts and our tongues.
“The word of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Proverbs 12:18
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” 1 Corinthians 13:1
Prayer
Jesus,
Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with people who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies! Let me be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. With the fruit of the Holy Spirit I will be able to show myself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in my speaking show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about me. Therefore, prepare my mind for action, and being sober-minded, I will set my hope fully on the grace that will be brought to me at the revelation of You, my King, Jesus Christ. As an obedient child, I will not be conformed to the passions of my former ignorance, but as You who called me is holy, I also will be holy in all my conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” I will bring You glory, honor, and praise all the days of my life. Amen!
Photo by Alexandra Mirgheș on Unsplash
Google Doc
Posted in Walking In Grace
Tagged with Anger, Tongue, Praise, Corrupt, Cursing, Guard, Thoughts, Mind, Peace, Holy Spirit, Fruit of The Spirit, Jesus
Tagged with Anger, Tongue, Praise, Corrupt, Cursing, Guard, Thoughts, Mind, Peace, Holy Spirit, Fruit of The Spirit, Jesus
Recent
Archive
2021
January
A New Year's PrayerJust Say YesReady for A BreakthroughI Shall Not WantAddictive LoveAgainAtmospheric PowerStay With MeFrom Mercy To LoveI Will Fear No EvilCome to JesusMy IntercessorLord of the LeftoversBring On The PraiseLet Me Be Like An AntBreathe On UsA Leap of FaithJust A SipThe God Who Sees MeThe Light At the End of the TunnelEmbrace Your Spiritual BlessingsFor Our BrokennessHallelujah!On Your FaceDon't Lose Your DreamsLiving This MomentOur Ever Present Help
February
Dove of PeaceThe Roundabout WayA Ten Dollar BlessingLiving in God's ZoneMountain, MoveThis Time, I'll Be StillQuiet Our Souls While You WorkFinding Favor, Finding HopeYour MoveBreaking Out For JesusWhat Our Hearts DesireThe Love of Yahweh!This Is How You LoveBreathe Your Breath of RevivalDo You Believe ItKeep It Moving!There's Beauty in My BrokennessThe Fire and The AltarGoing Fishing
March
The HarvestHis DelightFaith the DisrupterF.R.O.G.A Fresh Wind of The LordSeeing the InvisibleTake Your VitaminsReturn to the LordWaiting Here for YouSquishy ShoesIt's Time to Spring ForwardThe Greater NameLiving in God's ZoneHeart FixerThe Power of the SpiritMan of His WordPraise PartyBring On The RainGet Off This MountainLet Us Know
April
2020
August
October
No Comments