Lord understands every motive behind the thoughts
Fr. Jos Tharakan +
thoughts. (1 Chronicles 28:9)
Words can hurt. Spoken word is likened to an arrow in flight - once out of
our mouth we have no control over it; we cannot call it back. It sometimes
hits the wrong target or goes deeper than intended, and people are hurt. An
offensive word can split apart time-tested bond of hearts -- between life
partners, friends and communities.
Quite often the words are not intended to hurt. Still they create rifts and
ripples in relationships. A bond of love that has stood by us through the
testing times of our life should not be snapped for an unkind word or a
misunderstanding. But it happens. It happens when the ego, not love, rules
our heart.
We should rather look at the other's heart and not the words he or she
speaks. A loving person goes beyond the spoken words, however insulting they
may appear, to the inner reality of the speaker. A friendship is more
precious than a hurt ego. Further, even if a word or an expression hurts,
remember it's at most a drop of poison in the vast sea of good that the
person has done in the past. After all, just a single drop of poison does
not make the entire sea poisonous.
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Reflections by M.K. Jos (Poet, Writer, Editor and A Friend of Fr. Jos)