Contemplations

ZIP YOUR LIPS                  The tongue is a powerful instrument. I have seen it make beautiful women ugly and ugly women beautiful. I have seen it build up, and I have seen it destroy. I have been built up, and I have been destroyed by its action. There is a saying that goes, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." There is no truth to that saying. Words can hurt much more than sticks and stones. They usually cause longer-lasting injuries than sticks and stones. Following are verses from the Old and New Testaments warning us to zip our lips or tame our tongues. Ex. 20:7 - ""You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name." Ex. 20:16 - "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor." Ex. 23:8 - ""Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous. Lev. 19:16 - "

POOR BUT RICH My family did not have much money, but we were rich nevertheless. We were not poor because my father was lazy. He worked long hours at hard jobs that were hazardous, physically demanding, and in all kinds of weather. For many years he received low pay. Low pay plus a large family often equals poor. God blessed us with other riches, though, that cannot be found in monetary things. My parents had four small children, all girls, over a span of as many years. Even so, when the youngest (twins) were two years old, my parents were willing to take in my two young cousins, a boy and a girl, who had become homeless. They were the same ages as the two oldest of us siblings. A few years later, two more babies, a girl and boy, entered the family. They were two years apart. Mom and Dad were poor in cash, but rich in compassion and love. We learned to have fun naturally and did not rely on the artificial fun that comes from things that money can buy, “canned fun,” or worldly activi