Nip It in the Bud (9)
Series: Life Verses
Tony Thomas
James 1:19, 26
There's an old adage that most of us learned in our youth: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words may never hurt me! Children from every culture and language are taught that pithy statement, but as clever as it is, it's a lie! It hurts to be called stupid ... ugly ... fat ... or four-eyes.
Snide remarks can cause lifelong emotional scars. Mentally, we replay those hurtful words in our minds. In frustration, your siblings made insensitive remarks. In anger, a coach or a teacher spewed forth a verbal tirade. In an unguarded moment your appearance was criticized.
Psychologists tell us that events, places and odors can trigger the subconscious mind. When that happens we remember an unpleasant event buried in the recesses of our memories. Without thinking, derogatory tongue-lashings are rehearsed and those memories yield a bumper-crop of guilt feelings.
When I was in Jr. High my best friend purchased a book of insults from a school catalog, and I can still recall several of them that we repeated over and over again to tease friends. Like, ''She thinks her chin is her best feature. To me, it looks like a double feature!'' Or how about this one: ''She's so ugly she could sue her parents for damages!''
My days at Will Rogers Jr. High School are now 40 years in my rearview mirror and I still remember those putdowns! Some would call that youthful indiscretion. But when adults continue adolescent behavior there is good reason for alarm!
In Matthew 12, a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus. Matthew tells us that Jesus healed him so that he could talk and see, that the people were astonished, and they began to wonder out loud, ''Is this the Son of David?''
At this point in the story the Pharisees stepped in to express their doubts and a lengthy conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees followed. Eventually, Jesus said:
34 You brood of vipers ...
Series: Life Verses
Tony Thomas
James 1:19, 26
There's an old adage that most of us learned in our youth: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words may never hurt me! Children from every culture and language are taught that pithy statement, but as clever as it is, it's a lie! It hurts to be called stupid ... ugly ... fat ... or four-eyes.
Snide remarks can cause lifelong emotional scars. Mentally, we replay those hurtful words in our minds. In frustration, your siblings made insensitive remarks. In anger, a coach or a teacher spewed forth a verbal tirade. In an unguarded moment your appearance was criticized.
Psychologists tell us that events, places and odors can trigger the subconscious mind. When that happens we remember an unpleasant event buried in the recesses of our memories. Without thinking, derogatory tongue-lashings are rehearsed and those memories yield a bumper-crop of guilt feelings.
When I was in Jr. High my best friend purchased a book of insults from a school catalog, and I can still recall several of them that we repeated over and over again to tease friends. Like, ''She thinks her chin is her best feature. To me, it looks like a double feature!'' Or how about this one: ''She's so ugly she could sue her parents for damages!''
My days at Will Rogers Jr. High School are now 40 years in my rearview mirror and I still remember those putdowns! Some would call that youthful indiscretion. But when adults continue adolescent behavior there is good reason for alarm!
In Matthew 12, a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus. Matthew tells us that Jesus healed him so that he could talk and see, that the people were astonished, and they began to wonder out loud, ''Is this the Son of David?''
At this point in the story the Pharisees stepped in to express their doubts and a lengthy conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees followed. Eventually, Jesus said:
34 You brood of vipers ...
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