Whether you speak, tweet or text, I’m sure everyone wishes they could take their words back on occasion. In the heat of the moment, if the wrong button is pushed, you can snap. The venom behind these outbursts are often regretful, expressing your true feelings without any restraint. The best advice when you are hot under the collar is to shut your mouth or trap depending upon the figure of speech you heard as a child.
Mom’s were right to suggest, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it!” If only Noah could take his words back in Genesis 9:24-25, cursing Ham, one of his 3 sons. After magnifying an embarrassing situation, Noah flipped out on Ham, possibly still under the influence of alcohol. As a result of this word curse in Genesis 9:25, the descendants of Ham turn out to be the first inhabitants of Nineveh, Philistine, Sodom and Gomorrah. What a motley crew as evil begot evil.
However, what if Noah settled down before talking to his son? Maybe the eternal destinations of these citizens would be different. Unfortunately, Ham did not receive his father’s blessing like his 2 two brothers. Becoming the black sheep of the family, this resentment was likely passed on in the form of a generational curse, Exodus 20:5, leading to a root of bitterness. Gary Smalley and John Trent write about the power of words in their book The Gift of the Blessing. One the greatest things a father can do in life is passing on to their blessing to each child. Yet, when anger interferes, one must careful not to allow emotion to impact what you say. Follow the words of Jesus’ little brother in James 1:26 so that the next time you are hot, you will shut your mouth, avoiding the legacy that Noah left behind for Ham.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 