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Friday!
Proverbs!
Just as damaging as a madman shooting a deadly weapon is someone who lies to a friend and then says, 
"I was only joking."
Proverbs 26:18-19NLT
I love how the NLT people have replaced firebrands, arrows and death with shooting a deadly weapon! Makes it contemporary. 
The author can't have imagined the devastation of modern weapons on people or classes of school children, but neither could he have imagined the spread of words through the media we have available today or the power of social media to amplify voices around the globe.
But the heart of people is still the same.
I've said too often "I was only joking".
That phrase or others like it minimises the harm I've caused, disregards the other person, evades responsibility.
Our words can and do hurt. 
I need to remember that my words can and do hurt. 
And when I get it wrong, "I was only joking" doesn't cut it. 
Our words can be weapons of war, or agents of grace, containers of hope, and offerings of love. 
#proverbs
#wisdom
#somethingtochewon
#choose


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