by Ward W. Bond, PhD
In the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific some villagers practice a unique form of logging. If a tree is too large to be chopped down, the natives cut it down by yelling at it. Woodsmen with these so-called special powers creep up on a tree just at dawn and suddenly scream at it at the top of their lungs. They continue this for thirty days. The tree dies and falls over. The theory is that the hollering kills the spirit of the tree. According to the villagers, it always works. Today, husbands yell at wives, wives yell at their husbands, both yell at their kids. We yell at the telephone, the lawn mower, the TV and the newspaper and our pets. People yell at their cars a lot. We modern, urban, educated folks yell at traffic, umpires, our bills and the banks and machines--especially machines from iPhones to computers. Machines and relatives get most of the yelling. Don't know what good it does? As for people, well, the Solomon Islanders may have a point. Yelling at living things does tend to kill the spirit in them. Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words will break our hearts. The Bible says, "You have been ensnared by the words of your mouth..." (Proverbs 6:2) and the Bible also says, we will sow what we reap.
Yelling at our loved ones or other people does nothing more than show our insecurities and lack of wisdom. It also shows are lack of trust and faith in the Lord. We need to stop taking out our shortcomings, failures, frustrations on others around us. Eventually, we will kill the spirit in those around us and the spirit within us will reap the very thing we sowed in others.
I encourage everyone to read a chapter of Psalms and a chapter of Proverbs every single day. You will learn how to handle yourself and anything that life throws at you. When you do that, the words you speak will one of love, encouragement and wise. Those around you will grow mightily and you will reap that benefits in which you plant in others.
In the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific some villagers practice a unique form of logging. If a tree is too large to be chopped down, the natives cut it down by yelling at it. Woodsmen with these so-called special powers creep up on a tree just at dawn and suddenly scream at it at the top of their lungs. They continue this for thirty days. The tree dies and falls over. The theory is that the hollering kills the spirit of the tree. According to the villagers, it always works. Today, husbands yell at wives, wives yell at their husbands, both yell at their kids. We yell at the telephone, the lawn mower, the TV and the newspaper and our pets. People yell at their cars a lot. We modern, urban, educated folks yell at traffic, umpires, our bills and the banks and machines--especially machines from iPhones to computers. Machines and relatives get most of the yelling. Don't know what good it does? As for people, well, the Solomon Islanders may have a point. Yelling at living things does tend to kill the spirit in them. Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words will break our hearts. The Bible says, "You have been ensnared by the words of your mouth..." (Proverbs 6:2) and the Bible also says, we will sow what we reap.
Yelling at our loved ones or other people does nothing more than show our insecurities and lack of wisdom. It also shows are lack of trust and faith in the Lord. We need to stop taking out our shortcomings, failures, frustrations on others around us. Eventually, we will kill the spirit in those around us and the spirit within us will reap the very thing we sowed in others.
I encourage everyone to read a chapter of Psalms and a chapter of Proverbs every single day. You will learn how to handle yourself and anything that life throws at you. When you do that, the words you speak will one of love, encouragement and wise. Those around you will grow mightily and you will reap that benefits in which you plant in others.