Nail it!

There was a little boy with a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail in the fence.

THE FIRST DAY he drove 37 nails into it. The amount gradually lessened. He discovered that it was easier to check his temper than hammer the nails.

A DAY CAME when he didn’t lose his temper at all. His father suggested that he pull out a nail for every day he held down his temper. After days the boy was able to report that all the nails were gone.

HIS FATHER TOOK him to the fence and said, "Well done. But look at the fence. It will never be the same again. Things said in anger leave a scar like these holes. You can put a knife into a man and draw it out. No matter how many times you say sorry, the wound is still there. Verbal wounds are just as bad."