A Forest Fire

"Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."
James 3: 5, 6

     I love words. I could abide a grammar or composition course for hours, but never a math class. Words are the colorful paints used to create a rendering which previously did not exist. Adjectives carve beauty from ordinary nouns while adverbs breathe life into drab verbs. Words are my tools of the trade and I've a grave responsibility to use them wisely, for I know that words can also scorch and sear, leaving charred silhouettes of former beauty to now stand idly, utterly worthless.

     When someone dear to me unleashed a sentence of ill-advised words, they were the spark that flamed quickly into the fire that destroyed years of hard labor. Left standing in its wake with the stench of smoke in my nostrils, I cried at the loss. How do I set about replanting?

     One seed at a time, nurtured in the love of Christ, watered liberally with forgiveness, must be planted whilst on my knees in prayer. If I do not forgive others their sin, my Heavenly Father will not forgive me.

     Remember this song from Sunday School?

 

Oh, be careful little tongue what you say,

Oh, be careful little tongue what you say,

For the Good Lord up above,

Is looking down in love,

So be careful little tongue what you say.