DaySpring Daily Word of Inspiration: Proverbs 15:4 – The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me! What a classic. This is a very self-proclaimed empowering statement that most of our parents imparted on us to recite in our various times of need. Unfortunately, it didn’t have the enforcement power that you thought or think it would have once you utilized it. Did I say it wrong? Was there not enough inflection in my voice when I stated it? Did the person not hear me? Funny as it may be, the reality is that those words spoken against you affected you and got to the very places you were trying to have them avoid. Whether it’s your heart, feelings, ego, or the like, the words spoken against you hurt. This is a double-edged sword if I’ve ever seen one. Let’s look at both sides of the coin and see how we can all be better by God’s word.
On the one side, we have the piercing effects of words being hurled at us relentlessly. Most of us are still walking around today with the scars of what someone has said to us from our past or even yesterday. These words can permeate through our lives creating havoc and distorting our thinking, diminishing our trust sensors and ultimately annihilating our capacity to love others. This is a huge problem!! As Christians, our example is to follow and strive to be like Jesus Christ and express the same love he has for his people. How can you love Christ, whom you’ve never seen but not love your brother or sister you see every day (1 John 4:20-21)? Words do hurt and they will have a generational effect on us if we don’t allow the power of Christ to destroy those hurtful words that are dictating our lives. We will inevitably put these same hurts onto your children, friends and family and others who are undeserving of the abuse; just as you were. It’s a vicious cycle wherein everyone loses. This brings us to the other side of the coin….
How fruitful are your words to others? Let’s leave the spiritual implications out of it for a moment. Are people uplifted when they hear you speak? Do people enjoy hearing from you because they know your words are filled with honesty but laced in absolute love? Do your words refresh a person? Or are you the exact opposite? Do you tear down others with your words as you’ve been afflicted in the past? Are you the one whose words are sharper than razors? Simply put, is your tongue and speech the problem that is crushing others? Now, from the spiritual side of things-how dare we?!! If our sole purpose in this life is to be Christ-like and lead others to him so that he might save them, woe to the person who is intentionally or unintentionally pushing his sheep further away from him! The spiritual implications of this fact are very troubling because it might suggest that you’re not on the same team as or even one of God’s children at all.
As grace and peace of God have been extended to us, the very realization of that fact should produce a humility that only reinforces Christ’s love through every aspect of our lives; especially through our speech! Negativity out of a Christian’s mouth has not place in the Kingdom of God because God isn’t about the tearing down of his people, He is ALL about the building up – and your words should too!
Today, we pray that you’re one of the folks whose tongue is a refreshing spring that others flock to for replenishment because you speak with the love of Christ flowing through you. If you’re not, pray for God to help change the sharp tongue you have so you don’t harm those he’s chosen to be a part of his ultimate plan. Let’s not hinder God’s plans because of our sin. Speak well of others and into their lives so you don’t risk Jesus not speaking well of you in the end. Those words will hurt most of all. Let’s learn to tame our tongues and let them glorify God alone! In Jesus’ name, AMEN!