A friend gave me a unique gift the other day, a Styrofoam brick that was labeled "Bad Call Brick" - - to have by my side as I watch football games on Sunday afternoon.

If my team plays poorly, or if I question the referee's call, I now have something to throw at the television, but it won’t hurt anything. It sure came in handy this past Sunday night as I watched my team get crushed by the Giants.

 I don't know about you, but I wish that all the bricks in our lives were Styrofoam bricks like that. That way no one would be hurt. I'm afraid that too often we become angry at someone and we throw bricks of painful words. Too often we are suspicious of someone and we throw painful bricks of gossip in their direction. We sometimes throw hurtful bricks of neglect or hate. Those bricks can do great damage. They can permanently scar.

Maybe you have felt the pain of bricks thrown in your direction.

Many years ago a group of men approached Jesus, dragging with them a woman caught committing adultery. They had hate in their eyes, and stones in their hands. They told Jesus that their law called for the stoning of such a person. They asked if they should stone her to death. His answer? "The one among you who has never sinned may throw the first stone." They dropped the stones and walked away. (John 8: 1-11)

Jesus influenced those men to drop those bricks of hate. It is my prayer that he will do the same thing for me. The psalmist prayed, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer." (Psalm 19:14) That is my prayer today. I hope that it is your prayer also.