Relationships: "A Word Fitly Spoken...."

Common Sense Commentary: Words are the electricity in the lines of communication for both good and bad. RB

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Prov.25:11.


Building good relationships, making and keeping friends, and just being a mature, happy person requires... sometimes eating crow or burned biscuits and letting some poor, accident prone guy off the hook. Too many of us just seem to be waiting for someone to make a mistake or say something awkwardly so we can pounce on them and let them know we don't appreciate it. What is that dark, smelly thing in so many people which causes them to be so negative, critical and anxious to show how smart they are or how dumb you are?

One word spoken carelessly, at the wrong moment can ruin someone's entire day, or set in motion a wrecked life or at the least, cast a cloud of regret over  the owner of the word that ruins their sleep for a week.  However, a single word of kindness, love or compliment has the opposite effect, and sometimes opens up a wonderful friendship or heals a wounded heart or ignites a new hope or new beginning. Words are powerful things and need to be used with caution and forethought. Wars have been loosed by a word as have great marriages and successful careers.

A few years ago; I think it was in Dallas, a gorilla escaped the zoo and was on a "get even with the world" rampage around the neighborhood.  Nobody seemed to be able to recapture the escaped beast or knock him out with rifle fired injections and he was becoming more and more agitated and destructive as days passed.  So, of course, the press and animal rights activists were all in a tizzy about who was at fault, and he should be severely punished.  One real evolutionary activist demanded, "Leave that animal person alone; he has his rights."  The environmentalists jumped into the fray with their own agenda.  The neighbors were horrified; some leaving their homes or threatening to  sue the zoo and Dallas. Everyone was criticizing the police for not recapturing this huge jungle giant after two or three days trying.  So, finally a policeman shot the thing ... in self defense ... and killed it. Now, the radio and television stations and newspapers were full of animal rights people and the gorilla's sympathizers, weeping and screaming for revenge against that heartless cop and the entire police department, city of Dallas and beef producers everywhere.  It really was becoming a huge thing in Texas and around the country. Then, some good ole boy, red neck Texian wrote a letter to the editor and said, as best I can remember, "OK, enough is enough, the monkey's dead; God bless the monkey. Now stop all this nonsense. I don't want to hear any more about it."  I laughed so hard my wife feared I would have a hear attack, and so did every other reasonable person in Texas. Everyone was laughing at "the monkey's dead" letter to the editor.  That letter ended the controversy and calmed our local complainers and critics to let it go.  There is enough big trouble in the world worth worrying about ... to just let the monkey rest in peace and get on with solving some real earth-shaking problems.  A word fitly spoken...

Probably the most important relationships are those within each family. The ones between parents and children is so very important and parents must work constantly to keep the lines of communication open, fair discipline, reasonable correction and, yes, the self - worth of the children and spiritual leadership for them. But even more important is the relationship between husband and wife.  If that fails, the whole family is in jeopardy.   Here is a story from a friend of mine, to illustrate the importance of a strong Mom and Dad relationship and a word fitly spoken.  RB

Burned Biscuits...

Thanks Brother Holmes. RB

When I was a kid, my Mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my Mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed!

 

"All my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my Mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that ugly burned biscuit.

 He ate every bite of that thing...never made a face nor uttered a word about it!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my Mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said, "Honey, I love burned biscuits every now and then."

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your Mom put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides--a little burned biscuit never hurt anyone!" "As I've grown older, I've thought about that many times. Life is full of  imperfect things and imperfect people.

"I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else. But what I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each other's faults and choosing to celebrate each other's differences is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship. And that's my prayer for you today...that you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a deal-breaker! We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship! "Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket--keep it in your own." "So, please pass me a biscuit, and yes, the burned one will do just fine. Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. "Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil--it has no point"