Rumor Seeds
RUMOR SEEDS
Read Psalm 19:12-14.
“There goes Melinda, the new girl on my block,” said Dee to her softball teammates. “She wears funny clothes. And her father has a big scar on his face—he looks like a criminal.”
“Do you think he’s really a criminal?” asked Natalie. “What do you suppose he did?”
Dee shrugged. “Robbed a bank maybe.”
As Dee began her warm-up run about the bases, she heard Natalie tell Pam, “Melinda’s dad is a bank robber.”
The rumor flew and grew until everyone on the team was whispering about Melinda and promising to avoid her. A little voice in Dee’s heart said, Dee, what have you done? But she tried not to listen.
After softball practice, Dee picked a dandelion that had gone to seed. She blew on it, and the seeds floated off like dozens of tiny parachutes.
“Oh dear!” said Mom, who came out to wash windows. “Those seeds are going to take root and become more pesky dandelions!”
“Sorry, Mom,” said Dee.
“Well, if you hadn’t blown them, the wind would have,” Mom said. Then she added, “Those seeds are gone forever. Words are like that. Once we’ve said them, they’re gone. The good ones bring happiness, and the unkind ones bring sorrow.” Dee squirmed as she remembered her words about Melinda and her father. “Before we speak about anyone,” continued Mom, “we should ask ourselves, ‘Is what I’m about to say true? Is it kind? Would God be pleased to hear me say it?’”
Dee’s words about Melinda’s father had certainly not been kind or pleasing to God. They probably weren’t even true! “Mom,” she said as she started for the house, “I’ve got some phone calls to make. I’ll tell you about it later.”
HOW ABOUT YOU?
What kind of words do you speak? Are they true? Kind? Pleasing to God? Do they build, or do they destroy? Ask God to help you watch your words.
TO MEMORIZE:
Take control of what I say, O LORD, and guard my lips.
Psalm 141:3
SPEAK KIND WORDS.
From the book
