Life Here and There

Yesterday at Bethel, we kicked off a four-part sermon series on the story of David and Goliath called Killing Giants. I took a slingshot to church and picked up five smooth stones along the way. We had fun. Nobody argued with the sermon… no one dared!

This morning, I woke up with a semi-profound thought on my mind… slingshots don’t hurt people, people hurt people. David used his slingshot to bring down a giant. Goliath was a 9 foot, 3 inch mountain of a man, covered in brass, carrying steel, and guarded by a shieldsman. David slung a rock an hit a target the size of a post-it note, thereby putting all of the Philistines to flight. Awesome story! We’re learning a lot from it already.

Here’s the thought that hit me, however. How often do we take our slingshots and aim them at the wrong target? In fact, do we sometimes aim our slingshot back at our own army? It occurs to me that it wasn’t the weapon that really mattered to the story, it was the aim of David. And if his smooth stone took down a giant wielding an iron spear, what do our words do to those at whom we sling them?

You might say that all of us have a tendency to reach for stones when we feel defensive. David was defending the honor and glory of God, but I wouldn’t dare presume that my motives are always that pure when I’m slinging words around.

I know that this post, even by its very title, might offend the crowd in favor of slingshot control, but maybe we just need better tongue control?… or maybe we just need better aim!

Nestled in the middle of the book of Judges is an intriguing story of an intriguing man – Jephthah. Though not specifically called a “judge” he certainly bears all the marks of the others. He rose up to lead Israel to freedom from oppression when it was desperately needed. But his story offers some interesting twists and turns.

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Once you spit something out, you can’t take it back. We see this principle demonstrated all the time in the media. A leader or celebrity says something insensitive and suddenly heads roll. Jesus said our words are an indicator of our heart, and the Proverbs tell us that you can’t recover words once you’ve thrown them out there. So choose wisely what you’re about to say.

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Here’s an article we all need to read about controlling the tongue. James said it best – master the tongue and you can master anything! Thanks for posting these, Kevin  – great article!

BURTONIA: Controlling the Tongue from James.