It's not what you say, it's how you say it...
This is a phrase that my dad said often while we were growing up.
Recently I was eating breakfast with a friend and he pointed out that I had offended someone by how I spoke to them. He was quick to say that what I said wasn't wrong and it needed to be said, but how it was done, was disrespectful.
I honestly felt justified in my use of a harsher tone, because what I was saying seemed so obvious to me, and I was already frustrated.
But we're never justified in disrespecting another human, especially as a Christian, dealing with other Christians. I was wrong. And I apologized to that person today for my poor and disrespectful way of dealing with that situation.
As Christians, we're always called to take the high road. To treat people with honor and respect. How you've been treated, does not justify you treating others poorly. We have to remember where we came from. How we were utterly disrespectful to God, and yet, God in His love pursued us.
If you have to preface your next sentence with "I know I shouldn't say this" then you shouldn't say it. Saying you know you shouldn't doesn't justify your actions, in fact it shows that you're not applying and walking out the wisdom that God has given you.
Our words and are tone are so powerful. We can build people up, or we can completely tear them down. Lets choose our words and tone carefully.
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