Titus 2 Men And Women

My friend told me this morning that she is trying very hard not to get frustrated with rude Christians. I told her it is impossible not to get frustrated with them...for sometimes we are "them." However, some days I honestly want to throw up my hands and scream, "Jesus didn't treat people like that!!!" 

I often wonder what has happened to the words "Christian character." Some days I come home from being in a meeting or situation where there are a lot of non-Christian people and have to ask the Lord why they are too-often nicer to be around than a lot of Christians I know? Can someone tell me when the words polite, kind, encourage, sweet, considerate and compassion were removed from the vocabularies of many Christian people? These words surely have not been removed from the Bible!

Some days it seems like devoted Christian people think that conversation means it's time to reprove and rebuke...glory to God! Too often I hear Christians say, in various ways, "I just say what I think- and people have to take it for what it is." The Bible says a fool utters all of his mind and God says the following in Psalms...something I pray often (words in parenthesis from the Strong's Concordance):

Psalm 64:2 "Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked (those who harm, show self friendly and hurt, afflict, break in pieces); from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: 
Psalm 64:3 "Who whet (prick, sharp) their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter (angry, heavy) words:" [Paraphrase: Their words cut like swords, and their cruel remarks sting like sharp arrows. ]

When my children were very young one of the first Bible verses they learned was "Be ye kind one to another." I think many Christians need to go back to toddler Sunday School and learn this verse again and then apply honey to their speech...for Jesus sake! --Sharon Merhalski

"Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones."
Proverbs 16:24
"How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"
Psalm 119:103

The boys were imploring me to make a batch of ice cream. Looking at the clock, I decided there was just time to make it and have it ready to serve for supper.

With interruptions and instructions from the boys, I put the ingredients together. In the course of time the ice cream was declared ready, and the boys were discussing who would get the dasher and who would get to clean out the container.

Lifting the lid carefully so that no salty ice would slip inside, we saw the beautifully fluffy ice cream. One of the boys exclaimed that it looked so good he was sure he could eat it all. I emptied most of the ice cream into a large bowl and let the boys clean off the rest.

After a couple licks one of the kids screwed up his nose and sputtered, "Ugh! Taste it, Mom." I did and nearly wished I hadn't. Have you ever tried peppermint ice cream without any sweetening added? I don't recommend it!

How could anything look so good and taste so bad? After all, all the other ingredients were there; only one had been omitted. But it just couldn't be eaten that way. Sweetness had to be added before the ice cream could be enjoyed by anyone.

Do our lives look pretty good from a distance? Those who see us only at church or on social occasions may not realize how our tongues can cut those with whom we work or live. These with whom we associate most closely are the ones who well know if a very important ingredient--one that will make us palatable as it were--is missing.

Add a little honey; a little sweetness may make all the difference.

--Noreen Rendall
Just a Taste of Honey

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