The words of our lips are like bullets
aimed at targets each day.
We open our mouths and spit them out,
and they are on their way.
Once we pull the trigger
there's no getting back that round,
So shouldn't we be very careful
just how they will sound?

We may not really mean to kill
the ones to whom they're sent--
Perhaps just to "straighten them out"
is that on which we're bent.
Words take but just a moment,
but their wounds can last for years;
So let's listen to them with our hearts--
before sending to their ears!

Let's make sure that our "bullets"
originate from above,
Fired consciously from our mouths
as "missiles" of GOD'S LOVE.

Let's take an extra moment
to consider this known fact--
That once we "pull the trigger"
there's no getting the bullet back!

Helen H. Parks
3-12-02

"Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips."
(Psalm 141:3)