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Keeping the Peace

1 Peter 3:10 For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech."

This verse today is a bit convicting.  Unfortunately sometimes I have to try hard to keep my mouth shut about things I have a strong opinion about, especially those things where my personal experiences are the source of my knowledge.  I can go for a while and keep my mouth shut, but then every once in a while it is just too much for me and I burst, so to speak.  I guess I don't know that I would say my tongue is evil or that my lips were deceitful.  As my dad would always ask in regards to having an opinion about someone, "Is it something you would say to his/her face?" If not, then I was dealing with an evil tongue and/or deceitful lips.  Unfortunately, I learned that lesson the hard way as a kid.  Now my struggle is to keep things to myself when something/someone is causing others pain or frustration and is working contrary to my own practices.  What's odd is that I struggle with this opinion sharing problem in the education world more so than anywhere else.  Theologically, politically, socially I can keep my opinions to myself.  But when it comes to my job, that is my struggle.  My prayer is that God would work on that part of my life and provide peace for me in those moments when I feel myself wanting to "burst".  I have come a ways, but there are definitely still days of struggle.  Ugh!

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