“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” (James 1:19b)
Ever heard the line, “Stick and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”? Do you agree with this?
True, sticks and stones can break our bones, but words can break our hearts — which is even worse. Bone fractures caused by real physical injury can easily be treated by doctors, but deep wounds inflicted by hurtful words often take time to heal. It is not easy to recover from horrible words meant to destroy the peaceful world of an otherwise restful soul. Words cut like a knife, and victims of word stabs often experience depression, frustration, anger, and a whole lot of negative feelings.
A person, for example, who has been told many times that he or she is “good for nothing” will soon turn out to be, well, good for nothing. A child, who suffers from constant verbal abuse, will grow up either insecure and recluse or angry and violent.
This is why it is important that we be careful with our words. “Think before you speak” is a wise advice, and it pays to heed it. Many wars have been waged just because world leaders refused to shut their mouths during times of crisis.
The Bible says in James 3:6, “The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil among 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.” The tongue, which is hard to tame according to the Word of God, spits out venom at will. It is a “restless evil, full of deadly poison” (v. 8).
One thing we should not forget: once words are spoken, we can never take them back. Once we have released them, they (words) are already out there in the air, doing either damage or wonders. So, it is best that we utter words that we will not regret later on. It all depends on our ‘heart condition’ because the Word says that “out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34b).”
Today, let us guard our speech and choose to use words that will breathe life into the hearts of other people. Let us make it our goal to limit our everyday vocabulary to words that will comfort, inspire, encourage, and edify. After all, there is more to words than meets the eye. (Photo by Jay-Ann Redondo)
Posted by Schweizer on October 12, 2005 at 11:21 am
What a great insight, Jayred! I know somebody who used to LOVE 9 pin bowling and would be found on the bowling lane almost every day. “One of these days you are going to die on the bowling lane”, his wife once exclaimed. He did die while bowling…
Posted by eden on October 16, 2005 at 5:38 pm
great post here .interesting
words will never hurt me? it surely will,and once it is said or spoken,we can never take them back.
Posted by bing on October 18, 2005 at 4:46 am
with our mouth comes praises and encouragements and with it also comes insults and mockeries. sometimes, i find it difficult to restrain my tounge to utter words that hurt when i am angry or provoked with the thought that if this person could hurt me with his words,he should take a dose of his own medicine. but then it does complicate things, makes the wounds deeper and resolves nothing.
another wonderful masterpiece from you… God bless you, Jayred!
Posted by Jayred on October 21, 2005 at 12:45 pm
TO ALL: Thanks for the visit/comments!
SCHWEIZER: Thanks for the compliment. Oh, poor guy…dying while playing bowling.
EDEN: I agree! Thanks for your kind words.
BING: What you said is actually very biblical (the first lines you wrote). It’s from the book of James. I can well relate to what you said. When provoked, it’s hard to control our anger, and then, we say words that we would regret later on….That’s why we need the Lord to help us become the person He wants us to be. Many thanks for your compliment!
God bless!
Posted by nel on October 22, 2005 at 12:02 am
this is great! thanks for another reminder. i really appreciate these coz everyday we talked to people.
Posted by nel on October 22, 2005 at 12:04 am
sorry for the deleted comment
Posted by jayred on October 22, 2005 at 9:39 am
nel: Hi! Thanks for the visit/comments. No problem about the deleted comment. Nice to know you liked the blog entry. God bless!
Posted by ms on August 26, 2007 at 9:32 am
Hi Jayred…
Regarding Schweizer commment, with the guy dying while bowling. . . there is another way of seeing it. That is …he died doing what he loved best!
Posted by jayred on August 26, 2007 at 11:00 am
MS, I heartily agree with you. (Shweizer actually raised a different point from what I was trying to say in my post. I think he was referring to “verbal declarations” that supposedly have the power to make things happen.)
Glad to see you here. I’ve not yet written an update on my haircare — or lack of it. So much to do, so little time. Hope all is well with you.