I know, I know... it has been a long while since I posted anything on here! I would be pointless to say how much has been going on! So I'm just going to dive in on a topic that is pretty close to my heart and has grown heavy. I just have to get it out!
Words have meaning.
Sometimes I think we all forget that. James 3:5-6 says " Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil amoung the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."
Think about that for a minute... ok, long enough! How many times have we said, me included, "my feet are killing me" after a long day at work, or "my kids are driving me crazy", when we spend to much time all together in the car? Our feet aren't killing us... and we aren't going to a padded room because our children want attention from us! If we aren't careful, the enemy can ride those words right on into our lives. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't want the enemy that close to me.
I was looking back over some notes I took in my old lifegroup class and this topic was covered!! How convenient!!
But there is a another side to all this...
It's not always the things we say to ourselves that the enemy can ride into our lives on...but what others say to us. We can either accept the words others use at us or we can deny them and cast it under our feet. Always being careful with the praise and the hurtful words used towards us. Too much praise can make us prideful. And too much hurtful can make us question our self-worth. The good news is that we don't have to accept everything that is said to us and about us. We can take the good and cast down the rest.
Sometimes, sadly, we have to weigh the importance of a relationship because of words that are said. Sometimes the phrase "That's not what I meant" can wear you down to nothing. If that's not what you meant, then why did you say it? I think the best rule when talking to others, in love and in anger, is to "say what you mean, and mean what you say". And stand by it even you said something hateful and the other person stops talking to you. That may be time to use some other words.. like I'm sorry.
Words have "forever" meaning...
Not just in the heat of the moment but the next day, the next week, the next year, they still have the same meaning. I forget sometimes, in the heat of an argument with my husband, that the things I say to him will be remembered...forever! (Now, read that like the kid in The Sandlot!)
And I would also like to point out that all of this doesn't just apply to the spoken word, but also the written word. In the world of Facebook, blogs, Myspace, and text messaging, we have to also remember these things. Aren't we so much braver when we can be ugly to others without being in the same room?! Ahhhh... modern technology!!!
I would just like to end with one thought that we all know very well.
Words have meaning...we can lift up and tear down others with our tongues, a small part of our body that has so much power.
