This was my newspaper article the Saturday before Valentine’s Day. I forgot to post it for you.

Valentine’s Day is around the corner on Tuesday. I was thinking about how our actions need to agree with our words and body language. 1 Corinthians 13 is often called the love chapter. Verse 1 says, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.”

An experienced drummer can greatly enhance the harmony of a musical piece. However, when a child gets ahold of a set of drumsticks, it can sound like chaos.

Harmonic rhythm is very soothing to our hearts. God created our bodies to function efficiently throughout every aspect of our lives.

Psalm 139:14 says, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.”

He uses our interpersonal relationships to train us in His righteousness. That means, He will use conflict, adversity, and tensions to conform our thoughts, purpose, and actions to His will and ways. Here is one of His ways with our words. Proverbs 16:24 says, “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” 

The opposite of that can be found in Proverbs 18:21. It says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Death words demean. They tear down rather than build up. They destroy rather than heal.

Death words are usually spoken in anger, rage, disgust, or rejection. Whereas life words encourage, strengthen, build up, and affirm. They are truth spoken in love.

Proverbs 17:22 stated two ways: it says, “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” 

Here is another contrast of living in harmony or chaos. Proverbs 12:25 says, “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad.” Paul wrote an antidote to anxiety in Philippians 4:6. It says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”

Doesn’t God already know? Yes, He does. However, He wants us to pour out our heart’s cries to Him, and then release them. He alone has the power to carry our heavy burdens.

Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” Note: when we carry a burden that is not ours to carry, we become anxious. Our focus is on our impotent inability, rather than His supernatural power to meet all our needs.

Psalm 62:8 says, “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.” When our trust is in ourselves, the burden will become oppressive.

Jesus came to set us free from the things that have oppressively crushed us. Luke 4:18 in the Amplified says, “…to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed (who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity).”

How do we combat death words that have been spoken over us? How do we build ourselves up when we have been crushed by words or actions? I love this example from David’s life. He and his army of men were returning from battle. Their city had been
burned with fire. No one was around. He and his men were physically exhausted.

The sight they took in with their eyes caused them to weep until they had no more strength to weep. Then they turned on David. They even thought to stone him! What did David do?

1 Samuel 30:6 says, “Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”

First David inquired of the Lord to get clear direction. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.”

The Lord is our Source. Asking the Lord what to do is a life skill. Maintaining harmony requires a heart that trusts in God no matter what our circumstances are. Interpersonal relationships can be chaotic or harmonic. The choice is ours ~ always we have a choice of how we will react or respond.