....then Just Don't Do It

Whoever speaks, let him speak as it were, the utterances of God.
       ~1 Peter 4:11

You have been called. To a different standard. To a gentle way. To a holy life.


If you can't do it in holiness......if you can't do it with a smile on your face.....if you can't do it with a gentle tone.....then just don't do it.


Simple.....

God said,

"....but according to the Holy One who has called you, you also become holy in all conduct".
       ~1 Peter 1:15

When I speak, my kids should not get confused with who is speaking. My words should sound like our loving Father.

Tender. Soft. Patient.


And when I am speaking confidences in the teacher's lounge, my colleagues should not have to hear whose side I am on. My words should be like God's Son, Jesus.

Encouraging. Thought Provoking. Gentle.


Or...the Christians who I run into at the grocery who attend our former church, they shouldn't have to have their peaceful morning disrupted. My words should be filled with God's Holy Spirit, the Comforter.


Sweet. Kind. Embracing.

"You have been called. Perfect Divinity has spoken to you. And He has called you to act holy in all your conduct. Not just how you behave at church, at Bible study, or with the lady at check-out.....He has spoken directly to you about how to conduct yourself.... at all times"

If I can't talk with Understanding and Respect to my colleague about the smallness of my room this year, and how difficult it is to get the technology running all because she moved me.......then don't do it.


If I can't ask with a Gentle Tone and a Smile for youngest to sit correctly in his chair and stop tipping it backwards as he picks the green out of his dinner.......then don't do it.
 
If I can't speak with Hope and Assurance of the state this world is in, and how it's going to "H..E..double toothpicks in a handbag".......then don't do it. 

If I can't Kindly and Tenderly ask (again) that oldest to turn his glassy glaze from the window back to his third homework page.......then don't do it.



If you can't do it in holiness, don't do it. Stay quiet. Pray. Ask for Divine Intervention and a Changed Heart......then do it just like Jesus would do it.

So...the next time I request the backpacks that have been thrown in a heap on the laundry room floor to be cleared away (for the countless time), I want the Lord to be able to nod and say...

                         

                           "That Mama sounds just like Me".





Lord God....I confess that much of the day these sons of mine do not hear You in my words, in my tone, in my conversations. Father, hear my cry ~ Give me Your language, Your love, Your voice! So that these children hear You when they hear me.

And let me not say anything at all at home, at work, while I'm out.... if I am not going to say what You would say.Cause me to only say it like You would...(and you spoke often in a whisper)..or to say nothing at all.
 
So those who choose to listen, think it's You....speaking through me.





Always seeking Higher Ground,


Nora