Communication
163
practice deception in order to avoid the hard words you speak. They
will evade the truth to escape censure and punishment. A hard, cold
command will do them no good.—Lt 8a, 1896. (
The Adventist Home,
439, 440
.)
Weed Out Every Careless Word—Remember that by your words
you shall be justified, and by your words condemned. The tongue
needs bridling. The words you speak are seeds sown, which produce
fruit either good or evil. Now is your sowing time.
The good man, from the good treasure of the heart, bringeth forth
good things. Why? Because Christ is an abiding presence in the soul.
The sanctifying truth is a treasure-house of wisdom to all who practice
the truth. As a living spring it is springing up unto everlasting life. The
one who has not Christ abiding in his heart will indulge in cheap talk,
exaggerated statements, that make mischief. The tongue that utters
perverse things, common things, slang phrases, that tongue needs to
be treated with the hot coals of juniper.—MS 17, 1895.
Grumbling Stunts Growth—There are men who possess excel-
lent faculties but who have come to a standstill. They do not go forward
to victory. And the ability with which God has endowed them is of
no value to His cause because it is unused. Many of these men are
found among the grumblers. They grumble because, they say, they are
not appreciated. But they do not appreciate themselves sufficiently to
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cooperate with the Greatest Teacher the world has ever known.—
The
Review and Herald, March 10, 1903
.
No Critical, Blunt, or Severe Words (counsel to a minister and
author)—The Lord will help every one of us where we need help the
most in the grand work of overcoming and conquering self. Let the
law of kindness be upon your lips and the oil of grace in your heart.
This will produce wonderful results. You will be tender, sympathetic,
courteous. You need all these graces. The Holy Spirit must be received
and brought into your character; then it will be as holy fire, giving
forth incense which will rise up to God, not from lips that condemn,
but as a healer of the souls of men. Your countenance will express the
image of the divine.
No sharp, critical, blunt, or severe words should be spoken. This
is common fire and must be left out of all our councils and intercourse
with our brethren. God requires every soul in His service to kindle
their censers from the coals of sacred fire.