The Power Of The Tongue

Slightly before beginning 5th grade, my family moved from the west side to the east side of Washington State.

This is usually an awkward time for any kid, and for me, a kid with a gap between his two front teeth, I was unprepared for how it would impact my life.

One day standing in the batters circle, I was accidentally hit in the mouth by someone swinging a baseball bat. Several weeks later, the small gap in my teeth had now become something like those openings you drive through in big sequoia trees. When I came back to school, one of my classmates said, “You look like a beaver!” That’s all it took – it stuck. I now had a nickname, Beaver. I managed a little laugh—like it didn’t really bother me. But it did. Every day from that point forward, I didn’t smile much. Solomon was right. Proverbs 18:21 (NIV) The tongue has the power of life and death…

Words are powerful. Even a casual word can shape—or misshape—someone’s reality for years to come. There may be nothing more important in our relationships than learning how to use our words to give life. I think the quality of our life depends upon what we’re saying. If you want to change your life, change your words.

Ephesians 4:29 (NLT) …Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
How to speak good and helpful words:

1. Eliminate hurtful words from your vocabulary. Hurtful words are accusatory and abusive.
2. Empower helpful words by crafting statements of affirmation. Good and helpful words are reassuring, timely, instructive and encouraging.
3. Enlist someone to hold you accountable for your language. Is it helpful or hurtful?

Who will you “speak helpful words” to this week?