“COOL KA LANG” (BE COOL)

Proverbs 12:18

There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

There was a little boy with a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, to hammer a nail in the back fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Then it gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there.

A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us.

Almighty Father, teach us to be kind and forgiving with one another, seeking to put the kindest thoughts upon the words and actions, always remembering our own attributes and weaknesses. Let us remember that we should be much more careful to note our own mistakes and faults than those of others.

Oh Lord, let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from us, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven us.

“Fight manfully onward,
Dark passions subdue;
Look ever to Jesus,
He'll carry us through."

Anger rests in the bosom of fools.