By: Iyo_embong

1. “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.
2. A time to give birth, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted.
3. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build up.
4. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
5. A time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to shun embracing.
6. A time to search, and a time to give up as lost; a time to keep, and a time to throw away.
7. A time to tear apart, and a time to sew together; a time to be silent, and a time to speak.
8. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

As was observed in Ecclesiastes 3: There is a “time to every purpose..” And there are times when some things should be said, and times to keep silent. There are times when we are tempted to make cutting comments, when the quality kindness (and good sense itself) would suggest that we keep silent.

Sometimes on the football field we see the dangerous practice of “piling on” – piling on and pushing the bottom player a little farther down into the dirt. In life there is also the practice of “piling on” and pushing people down a little deeper. Sometimes we see it among children. If one of them has made a misstatement or mistake, all present sometimes seem to want to outdo one another in embarrassing the unfortunate offender. But even as adults too many of us, too often, are cutting in our comments and too sharp with our tongues. Too many of us correct others cruelly, with the wrong spirit, at the wrong time. Even in families, correction is often ill-timed; and the intended lesson may be lost by the resentment that comes with being embarrassed before others.

There are times to speak up there are times to say what should be said. There are truths that must be spoken, falsehoods that must he challenged, mis- impressions that must be corrected, and facts that must be made known. But the ill-timed lashing of an uncontrolled temper or a loose and irresponsible tongue can do irreparable damage. No friendship, no household, no marriage, no organization, no congregation, no society is strong enough to remain unmarred by unbridled sarcasm or by cruel comment especially if you do it in public or in front of other people!

Whether uttered inadvertently or otherwise, we are responsible for the weight of our words, and we should weigh them well before we let them loose, having the good sense sometimes to be silent, and not to let temper or bad timing nullify the lessons that might have been learned. And on those occasions which must and do call for sharp correction, we should show “forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom (we have) reproved.” for love can make correction lasting, but hate only hardens the human heart.

May God give us the good sense to know what to say, and when to say it, and when to be silent; and give us also the great quality of KINDNESS so that what is said, will correct and NOT merely CRUELLY CUT.

By: Iyo_embong