I'm blessed today to be here on Tricia's blog to share with you something that's been on my heart. Something I struggle with and have found many others to do.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
For me it would be my tongue. Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about a foul moth. I'm talking about something deeper.
The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruits. Provers 18:21
Have you ever stopped to think the tongue has the power to guide and direct others lives? The words you say can hurt or encourage. It's surprising what a simple comment can do. A personal example: last year we were in a conversation with a group of friends and our teenage daughter was there. The subject of going to college came up and I made a joke comment, "Oh, she's not going to college." Well I knew I was kidding but I had no idea how much that comment affected our daughter. About a half of dozen times its come up since then and there's always a hurtful look in her face. I try to reassure her I was only kidding, but sometimes you just want to go back in time and take back the words you said. This simple comment seriously affected her self-esteem. I learned a hard life lesson, words shape us to who we are.
Do you remember a time in your life where someone said something and its been burned into your mind where you still hear or relive it today? I think most of us do. So what can we do to prevent this? It's hard but you can't let others affect your heart. We need to guard our hearts with God's word.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
The tongue has the power to destroy. It's as simple as a small spark can start a forest fire. All it takes is one comment. Hurtful words are that spark. They burrow themselves inside someone hearts, maybe for years, and can end up devastating someone's life.
Social media has changed a lot of things. It makes me so sad to read some of the comments I see on Facebook or Twitter. People sure do seem to get brave behind a computer monitor.
My struggle is I speak too quick. I need to take the time to think about what I'm going to say an how it going to effect the other person, before I say it. The last thing I ever mean to do is hurt someone.
The tongue has the power to change lives. Do we have control over it? Yes we do. It depends on who we're around. Honestly its true. You're driving with the kids in the backseat and they're complaining that daddy is barbecuing hot dogs for dinner but they think he always burns them. You turn around in a stern voice, "Hey! There are thousand of kids in Africa that would love to be in your shoes and eat daddy's hot dogs any day!" Now lets say that you've picked up your pastor for dinner, he's in the car with you and you're on your way back to your house, the kids are in the backseat complaining that daddy is barbecuing hot dogs and that he always burns them. You slowly turn around and with a smile, "Now kids, remember, let's be thankful of the things we have."
Okay, I may have gone a little overboard with the example, but you see my point. We do have a choice of what you say. Sometimes we say the most harsh, hurtful things to the ones closest to us.
So how can we build each other up?
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouths, but only what is helpful for building other up accordingly to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:29
We need to make sure we're giving our husbands and children words of affirmation. Telling our husbands how thankful we are for all they do and respect them. Telling our kids how proud we are and how much we love them.
So, let's do this together. Let's work on building up others, giving them life.
Are your words bringing up life? I'd love to know what you think.
Remember to stop by and visit me HERE, I love making new friends.
2 comments:
Thank you so much! This is so convicting (especially since I am always struggling with what I say). I really appreciate you sharing such an encouraging post!
This is SUCH a good post. Really, these are my thoughts exactly. We don't realize how important it is to guard what we say to other people!
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