Wednesday, April 30, 2014
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I grew up in Illinois. It's hard to find high mountains there. I think the highest in the state was like 2,000 feet. So, man, when I go west, "Whew!" impressed by the mountains. And as my friend from the Rockies pointed out, what we called mountains were nothing more than glorified hills.
See, Colorado has what they call the Fourteeners - mountain peaks over 14,000 feet. And Ecuador, in the city of Quito, they have Antisana. It's 18,000 feet tall! And the tallest mountain I've ever seen! But Antisana used to be 28,000 feet high. (So much for Colorado's "Fourteeners"). It was a volcano and it blew its top one day. And although the eruption only lasted a short time, the damage has been forever.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Volcano Scars."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Proverbs 12:18. It says, "Reckless words pierce like a sword." Wow! That is the awesome power of our angry, irresponsible, thoughtless words. Proverbs 18:21 says, "The tongue has the power of life and death." Now, we can say things that make a person feel more alive or more dead inside. You've had that happen to you, right? When we're angry, I think we're like that volcano. We erupt, we spew out our lava, and we often blow away a piece of the other person...if not ourselves. And every one of us carries around parts of us that have been mortally wounded by something someone said to us in anger. We know how it hurts. We know the lasting damage it can do. They may have forgotten it; we never have. Those are volcano scars.
So why do we do this to other people, and why especially do we do it to the people we love the most. The Bible pays a high tribute to a person who's under control. Proverbs 16:32, "Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who conquers a city." Wow! I mean, that's real manhood. He can control his temper; more powerful than conquering a city.
If you're tired of erupting and tired of leaving volcano scars, maybe it's time to follow the steps to becoming an extinct volcano. Number one, confess your anger. Confess your reckless words as the sin that they are. Bring that to Jesus' cross and treat it as some of the ugly sin that killed our Savior. And confess it as well to the victims of your anger.
Number two, don't let the lava build up. Deal with issues right away. Number three, make yourself listen; make yourself ask questions before you speak. James 1:19 says, "Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger." If you listen, if you hear the whole thing, if you understand it, you'll be slower to anger. Number four, don't say anything at all until you're under control. And the fifth step to becoming an extinct volcano is to make Jesus Christ the Lord of the raging animal inside you.
The uncontrollable parts of us are constant reminders that we need a Savior. You give it to Him for this new day. If volcanoes could think, maybe they'd think twice about blowing their top. The volcano might reason, "You know, maybe I'll feel better for a while, but is it worth blowing away a part of myself?" And in our relationships is it worth blowing away a part of another person I love?
If you think about it, we know it's not worth it. "The tongue (remember) has the power of life, it has the power of death." And it says, "reckless words pierce like a sword." Haven't we left enough volcano scars?