The Hurtful Fence

The effects of hurtful words may last forever, causing wounds almost impossible to overcome. 

Our angry, or reckless, or critical words are bullets - and it's all too easy to pull that trigger. In fact, it takes the help of God and our personal discipline to keep from firing off a round of wounding words.

But once you pull that trigger, there's no way to get that round back. Long after you've forgotten what you said, that person is still feeling the hurt of it, still hearing it over and over again in their heart. The words take a moment; the wounds can last for years.

Cast:  2 m or f any age

Bible Reference:  Proverbs 12:25

Set:  bare

Lighting:  standard

Sound:  wireless mics if available

Song:  none

SFX: none

Costumes:   standard

Props:  none

Special Instructions:   none

Time:     6

Sample of script:

actor comes on stage.

John: Hey Alex.

Alex: Hi John. How are you?

John: What happened to your fence?

Alex: My fence? . . . . My fence is just fine.

John: But it’s all full of yucky holes and stuff.

Alex: Well, I kinda pounded some nails into it when I wasn’t supposed to.

John: And your Mom and Dad said . . . . .?

Alex: Actually, John, you don’t want to know what they said! . . . . I really don’t know why they are so mad at me. I pulled all the nails out.

John: But the holes are still there.

Alex: Well, of course the holes are still there, I can’t pull the holes out!

John: No, you can’t.

Alex: Now what am I supposed to do?

John: Well, the fact is that you ruined the fence.

Alex: What do you mean I ruined the fence? It’s a perfectly good fence—tall, strong—like I say, a perfectly good fence.

John: So you are telling me that if you were a guy that just walked by, saw that fence, all the holes in it, you would say, “That sure is an awesome fence, couldn’t be better!”

Alex: Well, not exactly awesome. . . . More like kinda OK.

John: I’m not sure a lot of people are looking to buy a “kinda OK” fence.

Alex: Guess likely you’re right. . . . So what are we supposed to do now?

John: “We”?

Alex: I was kinda like expecting you to be part of the solution.

John: And you are all of the problem, right?

Alex: We could be like a team.

John: The way I see it on this team is that you mess it up and I fix it, right?

Alex: We could be like a team. John: The way I see it on this team is that you mess it up and I fix it, right? Alex: Everyone just naturally in charge of something, don’t you think?

John: I got a better idea. . . Maybe it would be better if you didn’t go pounding nails into the fence in the first place.

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