Holes in the Fence!

There is a story about a young boy who had a bad temper. One day, to help the son learn a lesson, his father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper or lashed out with his words, he would have to hammer a nail into their beautiful white picket fence. The very first day, the young boy drove eight nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, however, as the boy learned to control his anger, the number of nails he had to hammer into the fence drastically decreased each day. Finally, the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He was so proud of himself and told his father about his accomplishment. The father put his arm around his son, walked him out to the fence, and told the boy to now remove one nail for each day that he didn't lose his temper. Quite a while passed when finally the young boy was able to remove that last nail. As soon as he finished, the boy ran to tell his father.


The father hugged his son and said, "You have done so well at keeping your temper in check and I'm proud of you, but I want you to see something."


The father took the young boy by the hand and walked over to the fence.


"See all these holes in our beautiful fence?" the father asked.


The little boy nodded his head.


"That fence will never be the same," the father said. "When you say things in anger, those words leave scars on the hearts of others just like the nails leave holes in our fence. You can pull the nails out, but the marks are deep and permanent. The same goes for your words. It doesn't matter how many times you say you're sorry, you can't take those words back, and the scars are still there."


The boy's face fell low as he realized the impact of his words. The father, seeing that his son had learned such a valuable lesson, walked to their nearby shed and pulled out some new fence posts. "Let's build a new fence together, Son." The boy lifted his head with a huge smile. "And we won't put holes it!" he said. "And we won't put holes in it," the father echoed.


Today, the question is: Do you realize the weight of your words? Are you making holes in the hearts of others? Or, are you carefully choosing your words and allowing them to bring life to the people around you? Scripture says that, "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing" (Proverbs 12:18). Be wise today and let your words bring healing everywhere you go.