Life Can Be Wonderful? 3 – Even When I Hold My Tounge
Jesus talks about the meek inheriting the earth and you wonder how is that going to work at all. The meek are walked over and left in the rubble of a life that has been dominated by someone else. Many times our tongues lead us into trouble. Our pride is usually shown through our words then our actions. Many of us have made the best speech we will ever regret. That is where meekness comes in. When we control our mouths our world changes and we begin to control our world.
But, we have all had those imaginary conversations in our minds. You know the one where someone did you wrong or said something about you. The crowd is all around you and you’re face to face with your nemesis. They have been running their mouth and you are ready to take them down. After all, pride says you have to answer this assault. In our dreams we go up one side and down the other on our enemy. They have no answer, they are left speechless and we walk through the crowd high fiving and celebrating our “victory.” Our pride swells and all of the sudden we look around realize that we truly did not win anything. Well for sure not in the time to come after our dreams are all dreamed and we have to live another day.
So how is it that the meek will inherit the earth? I think it starts with our mouths. Let’s look at some thoughts on how to win the earth and not lose the argument. We win the day when we…
Take a Breath Instead of Going Into Attack Mode
A pretty smart king wrote a couple thousand years ago said this: “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” The question really becomes: How do I react when someone says something to me? That is the real step to winning. Do I have to answer everybody and everything? It is important to take a breath before you answer or react. When my boys were little we had a paddle that hung in our kitchen. If they got in enough trouble to get a spanking I would make them go to the kitchen to get the paddle and bring it to me. There were two reasons for this. My boys will tell you that it was the worst walk of their life. Having to get the paddle was the punishment. Their inevitably slow walk let me cool down so that I never spanked them in anger. That taking a breath thing can really save us. To speak in anger is always dangerous. We all see it in other people, but meekness calls us to breathe. To not answer someone in anger will save us some fence mending later on.
Could Win the Argument but Realize It Doesn’t Really Matter
Have you ever been in the midst of an argument with someone and then think: Will this really matter tomorrow, next week or next year? But, there is that competitive pride in us that makes us want to win every argument. We need to realize that not every argument means we have to win. In fact I have won many an argument to only lose something greater later. You can be right all the way until you are all alone. Arguments are momentary, relationships are forever. So let the argument go to win the relationship. Remember we are trying to win tomorrow not today.
Could Judge Someone but I’m Quiet and Pray
Paul gave us some good advice in Romans 14:1 from the Message translation. He writes: Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently. What would change in our world if we prayed for others instead of judging them? I think it would be an amazing difference if we gave the benefit of a doubt instead of a comment. It is always easy to say something about someone we don’t quite understand or see clearly. So what if we just shut up and pray. Our church had that going for a while. We blind drew families to pray for over the year. Each family took a family to pray for and we just shut up and prayed. It was amazing to see how much our attitudes toward each other changed. Our pride in ourselves dropped as our compassion for others grew.
I’m Angry but Keep My Cool
We already talked about not answering in anger. I bring it up again because most of our anger comes from pride I think. So we all need to memorize an old saying from that wise king. Solomon encouraged us with these words: “A gentle answer quiets anger but a harsh word stirs it up.” Not going with our first thought might just be the safest bet for all of us. The meek don’t swallow their words, they just choose them carefully. To not respond in anger will win you the world, eventually.
The “meek inherit the earth” because they stay quiet and still; then the truth leads others to trust and believe in them. When people watch us control our tongues they don’t forget it. They will eventually trust us more than someone who flies off the handle at every little thing. So we inherit the earth one word or not one word at a time. How we use our mouths shows pride or meekness. Which one are going to bet your life on?