Now I know this is going to speak to many, and I want it to speak to your heart. I want you to begin to think about what you're doing, because I'm aware that in some families and some relational situations, some of you are totally unaware of the havoc you're creating by your words. I want you to become aware of these words, and then come to a place where you learn how to handle and rule your spirit, so you become able to begin to speak words that are life-giving, and words that build. If most of our life our words are out of control, when we try to speak God's words, probably there'll be no force, no power, no life in them, because they're not really part of the way we live our life.
Hasty words always have bad consequences. Words spoken out of inflamed emotions. Words that are spoken like that, out of an inflamed emotion, always have bad consequences, and have you ever found afterwards you've had to say, I wish I hadn't said that? I just wish I hadn't said that? How many people have said that - I wish I hadn't said that? When our emotions are stirred, we get angry, we get wound up on the inside, we say and do things we later regret. I wish I hadn't done that, now I've got to go and say I'm sorry and undo it all. I thought I was so right when I was saying all those things. Now I've got to go and humble myself, because I was a fool. See, so let me give you a couple of verses. So hasty words have bad consequences. Read this, Proverbs 14, Verse 17; A quick-tempered man acts foolishly. A quick-tempered man acts foolishly. Ever seen someone that flares up? Notice they always do dumb things? How many have broken something when you flared up, or you've done something stupid with your car? Ooh yes, yeah, something got broken, something was bumped into when we got angry see, so the Bible says very clearly, that a quick-tempered person will act foolishly. In other words they act without thinking - don't know what they come up with is stupid.
Proverbs 14:29, He that is slow to anger, or slow to wrath, has great understanding. If you can hold your anger back, and keep your anger in check, you're a very smart person! See, smart people can hold back their anger. Foolish people can't. He that is hasty in spirit, exalts foolishness, so the person who quickly flares up, you know what he does in his life? He does lots of stupid things. The person who can control their anger, and manage it and deal with it appropriately and right, that person's very understanding, understands the power of this thing if it's let go. Have you ever seen somebody who's started a little fire, and then couldn't put it out? That's what hasty words do. Angry words will really set something going. You know, you break out and you begin to have a deluge of angry words, what will happen is, you start a fire going in the family, in the household, in your relationships - very hard to put it out. That's why it says the tongue is a fire. The tongue is a fire, a fire!
When people are angry, they tend to speak and do things that are crazy. Shane Willard was saying that when a person gets angry their IQ drops 30 points, so if you were only an average IQ anyway [Laughter] which is most of us. You know, if we're really, really brilliant people then we can afford to drop a few for a moment, but if you're just sort of, just the normal, average, run of the mill person, and you lose 30 points on your IQ you're just a raving lunatic, can't think right. That's why the Bible says, they act stupidly, act foolishly, act like an idiot. Isn't that true? Have you ever seen someone acting like an idiot, and you think what on earth do they think they're doing? Look at that, look and they look like a crazy man, and all it is, is they're angry. Their IQ dropped. Your IQ drops 30 points when lust gets a hold of you, you just lose your ability to think. It's true, and then when anger gets a hold of you again, you lose your ability to think. All thinking's gone, now there's just I'm wanting to smash something, or yell at something. Isn't that right?