Word Fire!

“… If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone … ” (Matthew 18:15).

There is significant danger when sharing with others how we have been or are being hurt by another individual. This sharing can lead to situations, "verbal fires", where it becomes more and more difficult to be reconciled. In addition, we should especially hesitate to say anything negative about anyone in print even if it is a message to that person. We don't want to fuel a fire with our words and especially with our printed words. In general, it seems much better to speak in person about negative things and only put positive things in print or e-mails. I haven't always succeeded in this resolve but it is my aim. Praise and criticism are magnified by how many get to hear it. Let's make it our goal to minimize the criticism and to expand the praise. A word fire is harder to put out and is more destructive than any other kind of fire.