What type of knife are you?

No, I'm not conducting a survey... Or, trying to typecast your personality based on you being a knife.  But, I'm hoping you'll read this and think about how you relate to others and of course... A knife is an easy thing to relate to.

Okay, in all seriousness, you may not get it yet, but you will (I hope).  You see, the Bible is full of verses about being kind and loving towards each other, including:

Ephesians 4:29

29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 

11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

There are others, but I just wanted you to get an idea of this theme.  It's actually more than a theme.  It's a clear indication of how we're supposed to treat each other and it's a lesson that I think we can ALL admit we fail with at some point.  

So, back to the knife and what type of knife you are?  I was just cutting some bread into pieces.  As I started, I grabbed the first knife I saw and it was blunt.  So blunt in fact that it didn't cut the pieces nicely, but squished them.  I also almost cut myself in the process.  So, I grabbed a big knife with serrated edges, one that is designed for cutting bread and what do you know... The bread cut smoothly, nothing was crushed or ruined and I had nice pieces of bread.  

As I stood there and worked away, I thought of how we speak to one another.  We're living in a day and age where EVERYBODY feels free to share their opinions without giving a thought to how it will affect the person receiving it.  People have always had their opinions, but there was a time when we'd have to face the other person, so it wasn't shared as often. But, not so in the digital age.  It's impossible to keep up with the standards that are placed on us with how 'society' tells us to live.  Bullying has always been around, but now, it is so much quicker to shame someone and hurt them often hiding behind a button, phone or tablet without ever having to face the person who has been mocked.

I thought of how the pieces of bread looked when cut properly.  They were in perfect squares.  The bread that was cut with a blunt blade was in squashed pieces.  When we are spoken to cruelly and harshly, we can end up being hurt and harmed.  In essence, our personality becomes squished. 

That's why the Bible verses about treating others with love, compassion and being encouraging to those around us are SO important, especially now, when the rates of people struggling with anxiety, depression and ptsd seem to be at an all time high.

Here is a suggestion, that I hope we can all agree with.  How about taking a moment to NOT post something.  Take a few seconds and just re-read before you hit 'send' with that work e-mail, or text message.  Before you message someone, think about it.   We can look to the Bible for guidance about this too.  There are multiple verses about waiting before we speak:

James 3:6-12 English Standard Version (ESV)

6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life,[a]and set on fire by hell.[b] 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers,[c] these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

James 1:19 English Standard Version (ESV)

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

Proverbs 18:2 English Standard Version (ESV)

2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
    but only in expressing his opinion.

Wow... Talk about some harsh wording!  Yes, I'm talking about how we talk to others and there is such harsh wording used here.  The tongue is called a fire and even poison! And those who don't understand others for the sake of expressing their opinions are called fools.  Harsh and also 'ouch'.  I'm sure that there are times when I've acted like a fool and most of us (if we're honest with ourselves) at one point or another have behaved like a fool. We've been so keen on telling someone something that we speak before we think.  Or, we don't stop to think about how the wording of a text message will sound.

So, like I suggested, take that moment to read something before you send it.  If you're in the heat of the moment, pray, pray again and pray some more.  You may need to take a few minutes to calm down.  If you are reading something on-line, scroll on by if it can be a trigger for you.

Remember, feelings can get hurt.  If you have hurt others by your behaviour in the past, you may need to do some apologizing.  There is nothing to be lost if you stop and wait a bit before you speak.  But, there's a LOT to be gained.

You can be a knife, that cuts bread gently and allows for others to enjoy being around you. Or, you can be a dull, blunt blade that squishes others around you and may even have the reputation for being judgemental harsh and the one who nobody wants to be around.  I know which 'knife' I want to be and let's pray that ALL of us can be reach the goal of being gentle, kind and encouraging.