Daily Devotional

Hammer Time
AUGUST 20, 2021
Reading Time: 2 minutes Bible Reading:
GOD COMMANDS PURITY IN THOUGHT, WORD, AND Ephesians 4:29; 5:1-4
DEED.
Simon held the board still while Dad held the nail he “DO NOT LET ANY UNWHOLESOME
TALK COME OUT OF YOUR MOUTHS,
was trying to hammer into the board, which was
BUT ONLY WHAT IS HELPFUL FOR
going to become part of the roof for the doghouse BUILDING OTHERS UP ACCORDING
they were making. Dad lifted the hammer into the air TO THEIR NEEDS, THAT IT MAY
BENEFIT THOSE WHO LISTEN”
and brought it down-partly on the nail and partly on
his hand. Dad let out a yelp and dropped the (EPHESIANS 4:29, NIV).

hammer. “Are you OK?” Simon asked, concern written

on his face.
Dad shook his hand vigorously in the air. “Yes,” he
said. He inhaled sharply, the air whistling through his
teeth. “It sure does hurt, though,” he said.A few
moments later, Dad lifted the hammer again and
went back to work. He handed the hammer to Simon
and let him pound in the last nail. As they lifted the
roof and prepared to attach it to the doghouse,
Simon asked his dad a question.
“Dad,” he said, “haven’t you ever said a bad word? Ever?”
Dad stopped working and studied his son’s face. He knew what
had prompted Simon’s question—his reaction to pain without
cursing when he hit his hand with the hammer. He shook his head.
“Not since I was a little boy,” he said.

“Why?” Simon asked.

“Well,” Dad answered, “because God tells us that he wants us to be
pure-in thought, word, and deed. His Word says, ‘Don’t let any
unwholesome talk come out of your mouths.’”
“What’s that mean?”

“Well, ‘unwholesome talk’ means bad words, mean things you PRAY: “Lord,
might say about somebody else, gossip—things like that.”
“Mr. Henderson sometimes says bad words,” Simon said, referring may we be
to the father of one of his friends.
Dad nodded. “I know,” he said. “Do you?” pure in our
Simon thought for a moment. “I did once,” he said. “But I didn’t like
thoughts,
it.”
words, and
“I’m glad to hear you didn’t like it,” Dad said with a smile. “It’s a lot
better to say good things instead of bad things, isn’t it?” deeds.”
“Yeah,” Simon agreed, smiling. “Even when you hit your hand with a
hammer, huh, Dad?”
Dad returned Simon’s smile. “Even then, Son,” he said. He lifted the
hammer and hit the nail squarely on the head.

TO DO: Place a hammer on the table or kitchen counter today to

remind everyone in the family that God commands purity in
thought, word, and deed.

Millennium Christian Academy