The Words We Store Inside Our Hearts

Do you ever excuse yourself for having said something hurtful to a service person or family member, because you were "under a lot of pressure"? So do I. And do you ever manage to remain polite under even greater pressure, when talking to a prospective employer or someone else you want to impress? So do I.

The truth is, the only reason anger squirts out of us under pressure is that we first put that anger into ourselves. No matter how hard you squeeze an empty plastic bottle, nothing but air will come out. And no one can squeeze orange juice out of a bottle that's filled only with water. Likewise, every time we allow ourselves to think, "It's not fair when I can't have my way," we are filling our hearts with prideful resentment that will eventually come out--frequently with disastrous results.

The Bible has much to say about right words--and right attitudes. If we truly want to be Christ's followers in our actions, let us practice replacing our bitter and selfish impulses with humility, concern for others, and other Christlike thoughts.

The words we store inside our hearts--
The thoughts we think each hour--
Fill up our souls till out they burst
In all their awesome power.

The words we store inside our hearts
Will always find a way
To force themselves out through our mouths,
In every word we say.

If we store thoughts of selfishness,
If anger rules our brains,
The words we speak, before too long,
Pierce other hearts with pains.

A bottle squirts no alcohol,
When pressure is applied,
If only water was poured in--
It gives up what's inside.

So do not blame the stress of life
When you speak words of hate;
It is your own hard, prideful heart
That has you cursing fate.

If you would tame the restless tongue,
And have your words be kind,
Take words of God, and humble thoughts,
And feed them to your mind!