FEBRUARY 12, Proverbs 12:18

“Oh, how I love Jesus,” sang Raymond. “Oh, how I love… Stop it! Leave him alone. He’s my pet, not yours!” Raymond stopped singing to yell at his little sister. She was wriggling her fingers around in the chameleon’s home. Raymond reached over to pull Tara’s chubby hand from the bowl. “Don’t ever play with my chameleon again, you hear?” Then… CRASH! The bowl plunged to the floor. “Now look what you’ve done!” yelled Raymond hatefully. “Tara, you are so clumsy! Why do I have to have such a stupid sister?” Dad, who saw and heard what happened, spoke sternly to Raymond, but Tara ran towards her bedroom, sobbing.

That afternoon, Raymond’s friend Josef came to play. Raymond proudly showed Josef his new chameleon. “He eats bugs,” said Raymond, dropping a few into the bowl. Josef watched. “Hey!” he said after a few minutes. “Where did those bugs go? One minute I saw them, and the next… they’re gone!” “He’s probably eaten them,” said Raymond. “Really? I didn’t see him,” Josef replied. “I was watching, too.”

“Dad says a chameleon’s tongue is as fast as lightning,” explained Raymond. “Photographers use slow motion cameras to watch their eating habits.”

Just then, Dad entered the room.“That’s right,” he said. “A chameleon’s tongue is longer than its body, shaped like a tube, and is sticky on the end. God made their tongues like weapons so they could easily lash out and capture their prey.” “Tara is still upset about the way you yelled at her this morning.” He pointed to the chameleon. “Your tongue attacked your sister like your chameleon’s tongue attacked his lunch. His tongue sticks to the bugs, and I’m afraid your hateful words have stuck to Tara like glue. One minute you were singing about how you love Jesus and the next you were spitting out hateful words. How do you think Jesus feels about that? If you really love Him, don’t you think it should show in your speech?”

Raymond lowered his eyes.“I…I’m sorry,”he said.“I’ll…I’ll go apologise.”

Thought: Do you say hurtful things to others? What we say does hurt others, sometimes for a long time. Be careful to always speak kindly to others. Be careful to say things God is pleased to hear.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please help me to use my speech wisely to encourage and edify others instead of hurting them. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.