People Know You by Your Words

People Know You by Your Words: (Matthew 12:33-37)

"If you want good fruit, you must make the tree good. If your tree is not good, it will have bad fruit. A tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces. You snakes! You are evil people, so how can you say anything good? The mouth speaks the things that are in the heart. Good people have good things in their hearts, and so they say good things. But evil people have evil things in their hearts, so they say evil things. And I tell you that on the Judgement Day people will be responsible for every careless thing they have said. The words you have said will be used to judge you. Some of your words will prove you right, but some of your words will prove you guilty."

(San Mateo 12:33-37)

O haced el arbol bueno, y su fruto bueno, o haced el arbol malo, y su fruto malo; porque por el fruto se conoce el arbol. Generacion de viboras! Como podeis hablar lo bueno, siendo malos? Porque de la abundancia del corazon habla la boca. El hombre bueno, del buen tesoro del corazon saca buenas cosas; y el hombre malo, del mal tesoro saca malas cosas. Mas yo os digo que de toda palabra ociosa que hablan los hombres, de ella daran cuenta en el dia del juicio. Porque por tus palabras seras justificado, y por tus palabras seras condenado.

Anger (A True Story)

Anger. What does it mean? It means a strong feeling of displeasure or hostility. I know all too well about anger. I get angry more than I care to think about. I get angry when my kids don't do their chores, when I have to work 8 days straight, when I don't have enough money for something that I want, and especially when people test my patience. For example, last night while I was at work, a young man wanted to buy some cigarillos. I sold them to him and he was about 6 cents short. He told me that he was going to his car to get the change and that he would be right back. That was fine with me. I wasn't sweating the change. When he comes back to the window, I was helping another customer, so he throws a dime at me. He really threw a dime at me! I was like, "Oh no this nigga didn't just throw a dime at me!" I was ready to go off on him like nobody's business, but instead I kept my mouth shut. It killed me a little inside to do that. I wanted to tear into his behind and just shred him. But I chilled. I started thinking... WWGD? What would God do? He wouldn't go off on someone all kind of ways. That isn't what He does. So, I just continued doing my job. I know some people think that was a punk move on my part. But I am slowly, very slowly, learning that sometimes it's best to keep your mouth shut and keep it moving. God does not want us to be angry with each other or to seek revenge when we feel we have been slighted. We are to leave those matters up to Him. He will do what is right by us if we just trust and believe in Him. It isn't easy though. I have to stop myself every single day from going off on people. I know I have a nasty temper. I am stubborn and I always have to let you know how I feel. Now, I'm not saying to just let people walk all over you. I'm saying that we don't always have to be on the defensive. I have to learn to choose my battles wisely. Some things just aren't as important as we think they are. We need to be slow to speak and slow to anger. Let God deal with our battles. Like I said before, it's not an easy thing to do. But, it is the right thing to do. With God's help and His mercy, I will be able to conquer that weakness. The weakness of always having to give you the business. I know everyone gets angry at some point in their lives, but let God handle things for you. Listening and obeying His word will help rid us of all the unnecessary stress in our lives. Let's all try to lead the kind of life that He wants us to. God bless you all.

(James 1:19-20) My dear brothers and sisters, always be willing to listen and slow to speak. Do not become angry easily, because anger will not help you live the right kind of life God wants.

(Ephesians 4:26-27) When you are angry, do not sin, and be sure to stop being angry before the end of the day. Do not give the devil a way to defeat you.

(Proverbs 12:16) Fools quickly show that they are upset, but the wise ignore insults.

(Romans 12:19) My friends, do not try to punish others when they wrong you, but wait for God to punish them with his anger. It is written: "I will punish those who do wrong; I will repay them," says the Lord.

(Colossians 3:8) But now also put these things out of your life: anger, bad temper, doing or saying things to hurt others, and using evil words when you talk.