How important are the words you say? How meaningful are the
words that people say to you? As I think about it more and more I start to
notice that words are incredibly impactful. Think about it… Your first words
(whatever they were); were celebrated by your mother and or father. Words were
used to teach you discipline when your room was a mess and your parents told
you to clean it. Words were used to encourage you through school. Words were
used to congratulate you when you graduated. And it is words that are printed
on your Diploma or Degree. You might have used words to start a relationship
with someone. You used words to communicate to someone that you love them.
Without the words ‘I do’ you can’t complete the ceremony in a wedding. Those
are all great examples of how words are used in good ways, but what about when
words are destructive? Have you paid much attention to whether your words are
of a positive or negative impact? Words can cause unpredictable reactions
regardless of your intention.
James 3:5 says, “ So too, though the tongue is a small part
of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how large a forest a small fire
ignites. ”
It seems that whatever the circumstances are, words of an
unfavorable content do damage. Maybe it’s a boss at work, or a spouse at home. Perhaps
it is a friend or a colleague. Some of us have been abused and mistreated by
just words. Some of us can think of a moment when someone said something to us
or about us that completely changed everything.
It’s not the bad things that are said to you that make you
who you are. It’s what you accept and how you react to what is said to you that
make you who you are. And many times it’s not just what is said to us that distracts
us but what we say to ourselves.
What if you let go of the negative things that people have
said about you and cast down the negative things that you have said to
yourself?
