Words: Heart Reflections

In all honesty, dear reader, I must confess that like most of you I am a creature of habit. Some of my habitual doings are good and some, alas, not so good. One of my good habits is maintaining a quiet time each morning, well most mornings, so that I can read my Bible and talk to my Lord. Cursed with a wandering mind, I have tools that help me keep focused. Regular readings in “My Daily Bread” are included in my devotional time along with Oswald Chambers’ “My Utmost For His Highest.” Also, a couple of readings in two books on wisdom I discovered a few years back help me: one from the Psalms, and the other from Proverbs. A paragraph from today’s reading in the Proverbs 12:18 commentary started my mind to wandering.

“Words spoken in the heat of anger are spoken so quickly, but their impact goes so deep. Once said, words cannot be taken back. It seems to take many more words to heal than it does to hurt. It takes one unkind word to cut someone to the quick, but it may take a dozen apologies to make things well again.” Words truly are heart reflections.

As it often happens, in reading this I recalled a similar thought from an ancient Persian poet, born in 1048 and who died in 1131 in what is now Iran. There was a time, in the early 1950s, when I was enamored by the four-line poetry of Omar Khayyam; so much so that I copied many of his verses in calligraphy. In his day, old Omar was known more for his contributions in mathematics and astronomy than his poetry. However, today he’s known primarily for his collection of verses called the “Rubaiyat.” The most famous and my favorite, verse 51, seems to parallel today’s devotional reading:

    “The moving finger writes; and having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
    Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.”

A profound profundity and quotable quote, I say. Which brings to my mind again for the first time how very important are our words to one another. Somehow in our rush from point A to point B we often spew out a word or two angrily to someone without considering the injury it might cause. We’re all guilty of such thoughtlessness and later on wish we could, as Omar observes, lure it back to cancel it, but alas, what has been said, has been said, and though we’re sorry and try to make amends it may take a dozen apologies or maybe a lifetime to heal the wound.

The Apostle Paul had the solution. In his letter to the Ephesians, Chapter 4, verses 31-32, he admonishes, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” And in the Book of James the writer says the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity, defiling the whole body. It’s full of poison. With it we bless God and curse men, and it should not be so. Indeed, our words are the reflections of our hearts.

As for me, a dedicated creature of habit, I want to develop a good habit of encouraging people rather than finding fault with them. It’s not that difficult if I put my mind to it. I would like to be as the song, “Home on the Range” states: “Where seldom is heard a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day.” It occurs to me, that would fit quite well with my morning devotions, and please my Lord. What say you, dear reader?