Be careful what you say

‘The tongue also is a fire.’ James 3:6 NIV

On a windy day in March 1997, a father and son visited Valley Forge National Historic Park, where George Washington stationed the Revolutionary Army during the difficult winter of 1777–1778. The man and his son had something much less historic in mind: they wanted to launch a model rocket. At first they tried using electric ignition wires to light the fuse, but to no avail. So they tried lighting the fuse with a common sparkler, the kind frequently seen at annual holiday celebrations. That’s when trouble began. Sparks ignited a grass fire and the winds quickly spread the blaze, burning a field where Revolutionary War soldiers had trained, and coming within a few hundred metres of George Washington’s headquarters. The value of what they put at risk was incalculable. It took thirty units from twelve fire departments over an hour to bring the blaze under control. In the end some thirty acres were charred, and the man with the sparkler was charged with destruction of government property and improper use of fireworks.

The Bible says, ‘Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.’ (James 3:5–6 NIV)

‘Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.’ (Psalm 141:3 NKJV)

‘He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil.’ (1 Peter 3:10 NKJV)

‘The lips of the godly speak helpful words.’ (Proverbs 10:32 NLT)

So make sure your words help, not hurt; build up, not tear down. In other words, be careful what you say!

要小心说话

"舌头就是火" 雅各书3:6

1997年3月一个有风的日子，一位父亲领着他的儿子参观福尔谷国家历史公园，乔治·华盛顿曾在1777年-1778年的冬天将军队驻扎这个这个地方。这位父亲和他的儿子有一个不太可能写入历史的想法：他们想发射一个火箭模型。一开始，他们试图用电火花点燃保险丝，但没有成功。所以他们尝试用常用的烟火点燃导火索，就是在每年节日庆祝活动中经常看到的那种。就在那时麻烦开始了。火星点燃了杂草，并在狂风的作用下迅速蔓延，很快就烧到了美国革命战争期间士兵们训练的广场上，离乔治·华盛顿的总部也就只有几百米远。他们所冒的风险是不可估量的。从12个消防部门调来了30个单位用了一个多小时才把火势控制住。最后，大约三十英亩的土地被烧焦了，而这位点火的福清也被指控破坏政府财产和不当使用烟火。

《圣经》上说：“看哪，最小的火能点着最大的树林。舌头就是火，在我们百体中，舌头是个罪恶的世界，能污秽全身，也能把生命的轮子点起来，并且是从地狱里点着的。”（雅各书3:5-6）

“耶和华阿，求你禁止我的口，把守我的嘴。”（诗141:3）

“人若爱生命，愿享美福，须要禁止舌头不出恶言，嘴唇不说诡诈的话。”（彼得前书3:10）

“义人的嘴，能令人喜悦。”（箴言10:32）

所以，确保你所说是有益的，而不是伤害的；是建立，而不是摧毁。换句话说，要小心说话！