双语灵修（葛培理牧师）：9月17日 话语的力量

九月十七日

话语的力量

“这样，舌头在百体里也是最小的，却能说大话……”

—-雅3:5

有一个故事，讲的是一个英格兰女人带着不安的良心来找她的牧师。牧师知道她是一个惯常说闲话的人，她几乎污蔑过村里的每个人。“我怎样才能赎罪？”她恳求说。牧师说，“如果你要想良心得安，就背一袋鹅毛，在你诽谤过的每个人的门廊上丢一片鹅毛。”当她这样做完之后，回到牧师这里说道：“就这些吗？”“不！”这个智慧的老牧师说，“你现在必须去把每一片鹅毛收集起来送到我这里。” 过了很长时间，这个女人回来了， 一片鹅毛也没带来。她对牧师说：“风把它们都吹走了。” “我的姐妹，”牧师说，“流言蜚语也是如此。不友善的话很容易说出口，但我们再不能收回。”

今日祷告

天父啊，愿我对别人说的话都是靠着祢慈爱良善的灵所说的。奉主耶稣基督的圣名，阿们！

September 17

The Power of Words

The tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do . . .

—James 3:5 (TLB)

There is a story of a woman in England who came to her vicar with a troubled conscience. The vicar knew her to be a habitual gossip—she had maligned nearly everyone in the village. “How can I make amends?” she pleaded. The vicar said, “If you want to make peace with your conscience, take a bag of goose feathers and drop one on the porch of each one you have slandered.” When she had done so, she came back to the vicar and said, “Is that all?” “No,” said the wise old minister, “you must go now and gather up every feather and bring them all back to me.” After a long time the woman returned without a single feather. “The wind has blown them all away,” she said. “My good woman,” said the vicar, “so it is with gossip. Unkind words are easily dropped, but we can never take them back again.”

Prayer for the day

Might my words about another be ones that are spoken in the spirit of Your loving kindness, Father.