Words. We use them
every day. We text people words. We send people cards with preprinted
words. We send notes with handwritten
words. We speak to clerks and family
members with words. They are our primary
means of communication.
Proverbs 21:23 says: “Those who guard their mouths and their
tongues keep themselves from calamity.”
It seems from the time we learn to talk we speak
freely. It is exciting to hear a small
child begin to speak their first words.
Then in the early childhood years, the
questions, oh the questions! The words won’t ever stop. This is followed by the teenage years when it
seems like either there aren’t enough words spoken or there are too many words
spoken on any given day.
Words hold such power:
the power to bless or to curse, the power to build up or to tear down. The verse that spoke to me says we must
“guard” our mouths and tongues. Talk
about easier said than done! I come from
a family of serious sarcasm. Sometimes I
don’t realize that it could be, and very often is, taken the wrong way. You say something and then see the reactions
of others and realize that they didn’t grow up in your home. John and I went to Birmingham recently to
take our daughters to dinner and celebrate our youngest daughter’s
birthday. She brought six of her fellow interns
with her to enjoy the evening. At one
point she mentioned, “Mom, I had to warn them about you.” What was she talking about? Why did she have to “warn” her friends about
me? I wasn’t ever aware that I needed to
have a warning label!
Some words are not pleasant, but others definitely are. I received an email from a family member with
the most encouraging words I had read in a long time. It was one of those emails that everyone
would like to receive. I felt
encouraged and appreciated. It was
words, carefully timed and selected.
I need to protect my mouth and tongue. I need to guard what comes out. I want to use the gift of words to bless and
not curse, to lift up and not put down.
Do you need to guard your mouth and tongue more
closely? I challenge you this week to
speak words of hope and encouragement to someone who really needs them!
May you be blessed as you learn from His word.
Kathy Tanner
Director of Ministry Operations
Post a Comment