Jealousy….. Words…… The two words go together to form a perfect union. I have written about watching our words many times, to guard our hearts and watch our tongues. Those unkind, hateful, and wretched words pour out of the heart, and slide off the tongue easily, and in this case, may have done irreparable damage, for it has gone unchecked for several years. You cannot unsay words. They are like a poison arrow that hits straight for the heart, and does an immense amount of damage. Wrecking relationships, causing sorrow of the heart, a wound that will not soon be healed. Words. Oh how careful we must be! Words remembered in ones heart will become tears that fall from cheeks.

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:3

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9

“But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” James 3:8

“An unkind thought, a careless word can cause so much pain. Catch the thought. Hold the word!

Over the holidays a wicked incident happened to an acquaintance. Rude behavior, jealousy, cursing, unspeakable words lashed out by a daughter to her mom. I hated to hear the story. I knew she was hurting, but helpless to do anything. ….and that heart will not soon be mended. I could only be a listening ear, understanding heart and a shoulder, but what am I to do about a heart that is so deeply wounded by one that is near to her heart? Some things you cannot fix, try as you may, and some things cannot be undone. It all begins in the heart.

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.”
Proverbs 2:7

Jealousy is evil and destroys every thing that crosses its path, and to those whom are left in its destructive wake, deeply wounded, and time itself may never heal that heart.

“For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts. Proverbs 6:34-35

“Jealousy! The Bible calls it cruel. Shakespeare calls it a monster. I call it self-destructive. Jealousy often destroys what it would like to keep.” ~ Leroy Brownlow

“Stick and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me.” This is a lie. What we say matters. The unkind things we communicate can soil the best of relationships; even with the deepest of regrets…what lingers is a stain of hurt that may fade but will never truly go away. The wounding words we say are like feathers released in a harsh wind, once said; we will never get them back.”

~ Verdey

Eileen Light