A PreK teacher friend posted this in her classroom this year …
I feel like these should be LIFE rules, especially after the struggle bus made a stop at our house this morning.
Do you ever have mornings like that, the kind in which no one wakes up on the right side of the bed and every little thing is more of a struggle than it needs to be?
We really needed these reminders at our house today.
We needed more of Jesus and less of us.
Here’s what I mean:
1. Quiet Voices
“A soft and gentle and thoughtful answer turns away wrath, But harsh and painful and careless words stir up anger. The tongue of the wise speaks knowledge that is pleasing and acceptable, But the [babbling] mouth of fools spouts folly.
A soothing tongue [speaking words that build up and encourage] is a tree of life, But a perversive tongue [speaking words that overwhelm and depress] crushes the spirit.
The lips of the wise spread knowledge [sifting it as chaff from the grain]; But the hearts of [shortsighted] fools are not so.
The mind of the intelligent and discerning seeks knowledge and eagerly inquires after it, But the mouth of the [stubborn] fool feeds on foolishness.
A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, But he who is slow to anger and patient calms disputes.
A man has joy in giving an appropriate answer, And how good and delightful is a word spoken at the right moment—how good it is!
Evil plans and thoughts of the wicked are exceedingly vile and offensive to the LORD, But pure words are pleasant words to Him.
The heart of the righteous thinks carefully about how to answer [in a wise and appropriate and timely way], But the [babbling] mouth of the wicked pours out malevolent things.
The [reverent] fear of the LORD [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the instruction for wisdom [its starting point and its essence]; And before honor comes humility.”
Proverbs 15:1-2, 4, 7, 14, 18, 23, 26, 28, 30, 33 AMP
Yeah, that’ll preach.
When I think about what it means to have a quiet voice, I suppose I’m thinking more about what it means to have a quiet spirit and thoughtful voice, a voice that is filtered through godly wisdom and patience and love, a spirit that is led by the Holy Spirit instead of by raw emotion.
There is a time to shout and a time for righteous anger and action, as Jesus showed us (Matthew 21:12-13). Likewise, He instructs us through His Word to check our hearts before speaking—and in this modern age of technology, that also applies to texting, posting, commenting, DM-ing, etc.
“‘Don’t you understand yet?’ Jesus asked. ‘Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you.’”
Matthew 15:16-18 NLT
“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.”
Luke 6:45 NASB
2. Looking Eyes
“Let your eyes look directly ahead [toward the path of moral courage] And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you [toward the path of integrity].”
Proverbs 4:25 AMP
“Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
Philippians 2:4 AMP
“Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these heavenly bodies, The One who brings out their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one is missing.”
Isaiah 40:26 AMP
“Turn my eyes away from vanity [all those worldly, meaningless things that distract—let Your priorities be mine], And restore me [with renewed energy] in Your ways.”
Psalm 119:37 AMP
“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.”
1 Peter 5:8 NLT
We should be looking for the good in people, for opportunities to serve others and love them well, for God’s presence and constant goodness and faithfulness, for His hand in all of creation, for His image in the face of everyone we meet and in our own when we look in the mirror.
Do we see and reflect Him?
3. Helping Hands
“‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me [with help and ministering care]; I was in prison, and you came to Me [ignoring personal danger].’
Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You as a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
The King will answer and say to them, ‘I assure you and most solemnly say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it for Me.’”
Matthew 25:35-40 AMP
“Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.’
So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side.
So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.”
Exodus 17:8-13 ESV
Scripture couldn’t be more clear on this. In His Word, the Lord charges us over and over with helping to carry one another’s burdens (as Aaron and Hur did for Moses) and with hospitality.
“Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
Hebrews 13:1-2 ESV
“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
1 Peter 4:8-11 ESV
4. Walking Feet
“And this is how we know [daily, by experience] that we have come to know Him [to understand Him and be more deeply acquainted with Him]: if we habitually keep [focused on His precepts and obey] His commandments (teachings).
Whoever says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ but does not habitually keep [focused on His precepts and obey] His commandments (teachings), is a liar, and the truth [of the divine word] is not in him.
But whoever habitually keeps His word and obeys His precepts [and treasures His message in its entirety], in him the love of God has truly been perfected [it is completed and has reached maturity].
By this we know [for certain] that we are in Him: whoever says he lives in Christ [that is, whoever says he has accepted Him as God and Savior] ought [as a moral obligation] to walk and conduct himself just as He walked and conducted Himself.”
1 John 2:3-6 AMP
“Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in [union with] Him [reflecting His character in the things you do and say—living lives that lead others away from sin], having been deeply rooted [in Him] and now being continually built up in Him and [becoming increasingly more] established in your faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing in it with gratitude.”
Colossians 2:6-7 AMP
“He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you Except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion), And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]?”
Micah 6:8 AMP
That practicing kindness and walking humbly part gets to be more of a challenge when I’m running on fumes or at the end of my rope.
But here’s the thing. The “end of my rope” myth is just that; it’s is a lie perpetuated by the enemy because—as a child of God, as a sinner saved by His amazing grace—
He IS my rope … and He never runs out.
There is such peace knowing we never walk alone, that God goes before us and with us.
But we must keep walking, one foot in front of the other, allowing Him to continually make us more like Him, each of us a work in progress.
Friends, Jesus loves us way too much to leave us and, when all was said and done on the cross, to leave us anything but holy and blameless in the sight of our Father. (Hebrews 10:10, 14; Colossians 1:22; Ephesians 5:25-27)
5. Listening Ears
“Listen to counsel and accept discipline, That you may be wise the rest of your days. Many plans are in a man’s heart, But the counsel of the LORD will stand.”
Proverbs 19:20-21 NASB
“Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving]; for the [resentful, deep-seated] anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God [that standard of behavior which He requires from us].”
James 1:19-20 AMP
Listening is a choice.
Everyone loves a good listener! Our Father delights in our listening to Him and in our living out our faith, obediently doing all He has instructed us to do.
“But prove yourselves doers of the word [actively and continually obeying God’s precepts], and not merely listeners [who hear the word but fail to internalize its meaning], deluding yourselves [by unsound reasoning contrary to the truth].”
James 1:22 AMP
I’m so thankful for His grace and correction when I’ve failed to truly hear and understand Him because I wasn’t actively listening, and I’m humbled that He continues to love me anyway.
It reminds me of the chaos of this morning, when the kids and I were slow to hear and quick to speak, which usually leads to frustration or anger with one another. So we forgive and make amends and try to extend grace and don’t love each other any less for it.
Listening is a form of love, friends, and shows others that we care more about them than ourselves and our own time and our own agendas and all the responses forming in our minds.
We can put those aside for a minute because the person we’re listening to is loved by God and, therefore, should be loved by us.
Praise the Lord that He loves us with a perfect love … always … regardless of ourselves or anything we do or don’t do, say or don’t say, when we get it right and get it wrong.
He listens to and hears and sees and loves us anyway.
“My son, pay attention to my words and be willing to learn; Open your ears to my sayings. Do not let them escape from your sight; Keep them in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, And healing and health to all their flesh.
Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.”
Proverbs 4:20-23 AMP
6. Loving Hearts
The Bible is God’s love letter to us!
Scripture is God-breathed and depicts His loving heart in so many different ways. He knew we’d need to hear over and over and over in multiple ways how and how much He loves us, in order for us to finally accept and believe it and then be able to generously love others … it’s Him in us!
Agape love happens when our hearts are aligned with His heart, and that only happens when we are abiding in Him.
“We love because he first loved us.”
1 John 4:19 ESV
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ESV
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”
1 John 4:18 ESV
“Let all that you do be done in love.”
1 Corinthians 16:14 ESV
“But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’
And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Matthew 22:34-39 ESV
Love Jesus. Love others.
Can’t go wrong with that, my friends.
