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A Morning View From the Patio

"If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." - Mom, probably your Mom too!
I might be wrong, but somehow I think many people have misunderstood the right to free speech with the right to say whatever we want with no respect for others and perhaps even for the complete truth. The verses in Ephesians 4 which I have chosen today are a small part of the message Paul is sharing with the church. Early in the chapter he talks about pouring ourselves out in love looking out for each other, mending fences and loving each other through the differences.
So, PB, how do we do this when there are so many differences? It seems we have turned our fences into walls. We do not listen to the other, we attack the other, avoid mending the fence and we just build walls. Fences have important functions as life boundaries set up so that we have direction and guidance. Fences allow us to talk with each other and walls become ways in which we can talk about one another.
So, back to Mom! Be careful of the words we use and the thoughts we hold onto. I know I need to do a better job of cleaning up my words and my thoughts. I need to better focus on unity in Jesus Christ.
I want to bring a spirit of peace and love to others in all I say, think and do.
So my friends, forgive me as I continue to grow, encourage me to throw off the old and put on the new and help me mend fences while we tear down walls together.
Why don't we listen better to the wisdom from Mom?
“Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted.
Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.”  - Ephesians 4:29-32
Peace,
PB

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