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document.write('<h2>The Ways We Kill</h2><p><strong><em>by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.parishwebmaster.com/services/authors/bio');
document.write('_bjubar.htm"><font color="#000000">Brandon Jubar</font></a></em></strong></p><p>Remember "sticks and stones will break ');
document.write('my bones, but names will never hurt me"? Isn\'t that the silliest thing you\'ve ever heard? Since when does name-calling a');
document.write('nd ridiculing not hurt? Whether people want to believe it or not, words can kill.</p><p>Anyone who has ever spent time ');
document.write('in junior high or high school can tell you that sticks and stones feel much better than the verbal attacks that so many ');
document.write('teens endure. Words can hurt. The stones we throw with our mouths can cause serious damage, which can sometimes last a l');
document.write('ifetime. Looking at it that way, it should come as no surprise when I say that using words that harm others is a violati');
document.write('on of the Fifth Commandment.</p><h3>"You shall not kill." (Exod 20:13)</h3><p>"Killing" doesn\'t only refer to the taki');
document.write('ng of a life. My dictionary tells me that "kill" means, "to put an end to; to extinguish; to destroy a vitally essential');
document.write(' quality in." When we read the Commandment with that in mind, doesn\'t it change the meaning dramatically? If this isn\'t ');
document.write('just about taking a life, what else does it include?</p><h3>"You shall not put an end to friendships."</h3><p>If "kill');
document.write('ing" means putting an end to something, what does that imply when I ruin a friendship by spreading rumors and gossip abo');
document.write('ut a person? When I break a confidence and tell my friend\'s secrets knowing that word will spread quickly, have I violat');
document.write('ed the commandment? Have I "killed"?</p><h3>"You shall not extinguish creativity."</h3><p>If "killing" means extinguis');
document.write('hing something, what does that imply when I snuff out the spark of inspiration shown by someone in my youth group? When ');
document.write('I say, "That\'s a lame idea," or "We tried that once and it didn\'t work," have I violated the commandment? Have I "killed');
document.write('"?</p><h3>"You shall not destroy confidence."</h3><p>If "killing" means that an essential quality in something has bee');
document.write('n destroyed, what does that imply when I say things to destroy someone\'s confidence? When I laugh at my younger siblings');
document.write(' and make fun of their clumsiness in sports, have I violated the commandment? Have I "killed"?</p><h3>Be Careful With Y');
document.write('our Words</h3><p>Words can "kill." Words can end, extinguish, and destroy people and things. Words are weapons and we n');
document.write('eed to use them wisely. If not, you may just find yourself breaking a commandment.</p><hr><h3>Life Applications:</h3><');
document.write('p>How have my words hurt my relationships?<br />How have my words shut people down?<br />How have my words made people f');
document.write('eel small?</p><hr><p>Copyright 2004 <strong><em>by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.parishwebmaster.com/services/aut');
document.write('hors/bio_bjubar.htm"><font color="#000000">Brandon Jubar</font></a></em></strong><A HREF="http://www.ParishWebmaster.com');
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