Bless and don't Curse (Part 2)

Please read part one to get the context.

As you read, have you been thinking about our introductory passage: The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit? Your words can kill, and they can give life. Your words can harm people's reputation, close doors for them, damage their relationships, etc. Those are the fruit mentioned, and what you sow, you will reap.

What if what is said is the truth, you might say? Other people’s lives and activities are none of your business. Jesus said in Matthew 7:1-5: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Ask yourself, do I want others to share the kind of gossip about me that I am about to share about this person? Do I want others to hear about me, the kind of gossip I am about to listen to right now? No one is in a position to judge, criticise, or discuss other people's lives or activities because we all have our own sins to deal with. When... no... IF we manage to get the plank, and the next one, and the next one, to the power of a million, out of our own eye, then only can we discuss the speck in our neighbour's eye.

 

And, if you are so self-righteous that you think you have no sin, I want to remind you of 1 John 1:8: If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If you honestly search your heart, you will find many planks.

You see, the Bible is watertight. It has the answers to everything.

In what areas do we generally curse people? Think of your words when you’re driving, and another driver annoys you, or, for that matter, is directed towards anybody who annoys you, your opinions about the government, family members, colleagues, customers, spouses, and those we consider lower than ourselves. I continuously need to confess the sins of my tongue. Do you realise the curses you speak? Do you admit those to be sinful? Do you confess them?

My concern is that when things are tough, we curse people, circumstances, and ourselves instead of blessing them, and then we bring a curse over ourselves. But when we bless in such circumstances, we create a lifeline for ourselves. A couple of days ago, I experienced a practical example of the positive side of this. I always joke that if there is one thing that will cause me to lose my salvation, it would be other drivers and my reaction to their behaviour. In front of me was a slow driver who slowly started to annoy me. I don’t think I was tailgating, but I stayed close enough to be able to pass quickly the moment I got a gap. He probably experienced my behaviour as tailgating. The opportunity to pass him came when a double lane was added to improve traffic flow. Now, you ought to remember that by then, this guy has gathered for himself quite a following in the form of impatient drivers behind me. He, however, saw the opportunity to annoy this impatient tailgater behind him even more by driving next to an equally slow driver in the slow lane, making it impossible to pass him. This is where I passed the test. I knew he was watching me in the rearview mirror and was probably waiting for the middle finger, which I have never used before, but the Lord’s grace took over, and I waved at him, blowing him a kiss. That blessing worked, for he accelerated past the slower vehicle and gave way. As I passed him and looked at him, he was laughing. Had I cursed him by means of the middle finger, I would probably still be driving behind him 😊. 

To be continued