This email came along today, and its message of self-control is worth sharing.
There once was a little boy with a short temper and a wise and caring daddy.
So one day his Dad gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper he must hammer a nail deep into a 2x4 fence post. The first day the boy drove 37 nails into the post. He hit his thumb a few times too.
Over the next next few weeks he learned to control his anger, and the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled. He discovered it was pleasanter to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his dad about this achievement, and the father praised his success. Then he suggested that the boy now pull out one nail each day that he succeeded in not losing his temper.
This was not so easy to do, as some of the nails had gone in crooked or gotten bent over, or were pounded in so far it was difficult for the claw of the hammer to get a grip on the nailhead.
Months passed until the lad was finally able to tell his dad that all the nails had been removed. The dad praised him warmly. Then he took his son by the hand and they walked to the fence together.
They looked at the holes in the post. His dad said, "This fence post has a lot of holes in it. It will never be the same. When people say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this hole. Angry words can cut like a knife. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, someone has been wounded. A verbal wound can hurt as bad as a physical one.”
There once was a little boy with a short temper and a wise and caring daddy.
So one day his Dad gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper he must hammer a nail deep into a 2x4 fence post. The first day the boy drove 37 nails into the post. He hit his thumb a few times too.
Over the next next few weeks he learned to control his anger, and the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled. He discovered it was pleasanter to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his dad about this achievement, and the father praised his success. Then he suggested that the boy now pull out one nail each day that he succeeded in not losing his temper.
This was not so easy to do, as some of the nails had gone in crooked or gotten bent over, or were pounded in so far it was difficult for the claw of the hammer to get a grip on the nailhead.
Months passed until the lad was finally able to tell his dad that all the nails had been removed. The dad praised him warmly. Then he took his son by the hand and they walked to the fence together.
They looked at the holes in the post. His dad said, "This fence post has a lot of holes in it. It will never be the same. When people say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this hole. Angry words can cut like a knife. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, someone has been wounded. A verbal wound can hurt as bad as a physical one.”
The book of Proverbs
confirms the value of self-control,
"He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty.
He who rules his temper is greater than a conqueror."
2 comments:
this made me cry and cry in my heart as I am dealing with a partner with a temper and I carry the wounds. I shall print it out and send it to him and continue my prayers, I am so grateful to have this to read and to use in my life, thank you so much.
Dear Anonymous,
Thank you so much for your heartfelt comment. I am glad if the Fencepost story is helpful.
No one deserves to be abused - verbally or physically. Christ is never trapped.
Sandi
Post a Comment