Power of words…

I believe I have written on a topic with a similar feel before and you can be sure I will write on this topic many times again.

What we say can have terrible consequences or wonderful rewards. The truth is many times we don’t realize the power our words have over other people, and we certain don’t fully understand the power they have over us.

When our emotions are stirred, or our hearts are in despair, when our lives seem to be floating on the clouds themselves or if we are just content with everyday life our words flow out of that.

Those words transform us and others. Unless we are intentionally crafting our words to shape the outcome of what we desire then the result is an unexpected one.

Remember this saying

Sticks and Stone will break my bone, but words will never hurt me

Have you ever found that to be entirely true? Maybe you have? However my experience has been that words can be devastating  if not properly controlled. Just because we think we say something funny or nice, doesn’t mean it was received that way, and guess what, that is our problem. We have damaged someone with our words.

How do you use your words, to build or to destroy?

WATCH YO MOUTH!

I can remember the first time (or at least what I recall as the first time) that I cursed or some form of it in front of my mother. That didn’t turn out so well for me and rightfully so. I can still hear my mother and eventually my father, (and grandmother when she found out) saying WATCH YOUR MOUTH BOY!!! (Note that it sounded more like WATCH YO MOUTH!)

Now some may agree that using harsh language can be offensive but there are other ways to use words to damage people. In fact many people who are good at doing this simply say they have “strong personalities” or that they just “speak their mind”. While this may be true (along with other reasoning’s) what is also true is how destructive words can be to someone. Just because you spoke your mind, if it wasn’t received well or if it wasn’t encouraging then you have just done harm.

Now I used to get in trouble at school ALL the time for talking to much. However I have learned that sometime just because I am speaking doesn’t mean I am saying something.

Proverbs 15:1-4
A soft answer turns away wrath,
harsh word stirs up anger.
The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,
the mouths of fools pour out folly.
The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
keeping watch on the evil and the good.
A gentle tongue is a tree of life,
perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

What we say matters a lot. It impacts people on a variety of levels whether we realize it or not. However what if we intentionally decided to speak in such a way (even when we disagree/ or need to correct someone) that we would say things so the person would be better than before. That the person we are talking to, would have the chance to feel loved from our words no matter what we say. That would be mean being mindful of when to speak and how to say things. It would also include knowing that God is always a witness to what we say and the motives behind it.

So I am learning not to just let words fall out of my mouth has rain fall from the sky (in seemingly large quantities) , or as a drops slip out from an overfilled cup (randomly over the sides, and sometimes unnoticed where it lands) but rather intentionally like a facet. Adjusting the amount when necessary and using it only when needed (preferably without the leeks )

Just remember the words of my mother…  WATCH YO MOUTH!!