November 30, 2023 - I read a story not long ago that came from another day and time. An era when life was simpler and it was common for people to work for their passage on ships. It seems a young boy approached a ship’s captain in Boston Harbor and asked him if he had a berth on board for a young man who wanted to earn some money during the summer.
The ship’s captain inquired what he could do. The young boy said, “Well, I can do my best at whatever I am asked to do”. The captain then asked him what kind of work he had done. The boy replied, “I have sawed and split all my mother’s wood for nearly two years.”
The captain then asked, “Well, what have you not done?” The young boy replied, “Well sir, I have not whispered in school for a whole year.” With that, the captain hired the young boy. He knew that a boy who can master a woodpile and control his tongue must be made of good stuff.
Truth be told, it would be good if all of us could learn to control our tongue. Remember, James would write of the tongue, “it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father and therewith curse we men; which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessings and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.” Many of the problems of life could be avoided if men and women would only learn to control their tongues.
It’s something to think about... tbp
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