Words

Written by cycleguy on June 20th, 2013

soul_reconstruction

Ben Franklin is credited with saying

A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over

There is not a person on this planet-never has been and never will be (except Jesus of course)-who has not said something they regret.  NOT. A. ONE.   We have all heard the little ditty “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words/names will never hurt me.”   Only thing I can say about that is what a bunch of malarkey!   We have all been on the receiving and giving end of stinging words, ill-times words, or malicious words.

Here is one way to look at it:

Creative words create. Destructive words crush.

Hurtful words tear down. Helpful words build up.

Toxic words poison.  Soothing words heal.

Faith-filled words bring life.  Faithless words bring death.

Here is another:

“Rash language cuts and maims, but there is healing in the words of the wise.” Pr.12:18 (MSG)

“Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit-you choose.”  Pr.18:12 (MSG)

“Gentle words are a tree of life, a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.”  Pr.15:4 (NLT)

“Gracious words are like honeycombs, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” Pr.16:24 (ESV)

I’m sure you have noticed there are tons of people walking around wounded by the words of others.  Children who believe they are “in the way” or “unlovable” because someone told them so.  People walking around thinking they are ugly, ignorant, stupid, a fatso, etc all because someone used the power of devastating words to convey that.  And then the truth of the statement “Hurting people hurt people” begins its cycle.  Hurting people lash out to hurt someone else.  We cannot control what others say about us, but we can control what we believe.  We should take one view toward what others say about us- Truth or Trash.

It is time for a revolution!  It is time for a reconstruction!  “A good person’s mouth is a clear fountain of wisdom; a foul mouth is a stagnant swamp. The speech of a good person clears the air; the words of the wicked pollute it.”   Pr.10:31-32

As you can gather, my sermon in the series Danger: Toxic is on “Words.”  I’ll also be using James 3:1-12, which is one of the hardest hitting passages in the Bible about out words.  Thanks for your prayers.  I’ll also be showing this video.

How are you doing with your words these days? Let’s do all we can to build up not tear down. 

 

18 Comments so far ↓

  1. Daniel says:

    In the verbiage of the “love languages”, I am definitely a words of affirmation guy. Hurtful words absolutely wreck me. They linger and continue to fester in my mind. Some things that were said to me years ago can still bubble to the surface and sour me. What also frustrates the heck out of me is that I think that I should be strong enough to put that kind of crap aside, but alas, I cannot.

    • cycleguy says:

      You already know the reason why you can put that kind of stuff aside Daniel. it is your primary love language and it hits you where you live. You are a perfect example of why words need to be carefully chosen. Thanks for your honesty.

  2. I have seen in the past that I can be negative, so I try to swing as far as I can in the other directions.

  3. Rick Dawson says:

    Sticks and stones *will* break my bones, and words can surely kill me. Or heal me. Or wound me…

    I can still use improvement in clearing the garbage that was installed in my mind early on my family, mostly (but not exclusively, I must add) – there is no Wall-E available for that task – but there is the renewing of the mind that is changing how I think about myself and others that goes on quietly, out of sight. It does surface in more thoughtful, less impulsive language (spoken and written – the hand signaling has been gone a while now 🙂 )

    My job is more often than not to keep my mouth shut 🙂

    • cycleguy says:

      Romans 12:2 definitely plays a big part in the reprogramming of the mind that is so necessary for so many. I like your idea of your main job. 🙂

  4. Nancy says:

    Well said! Amen!

  5. floyd says:

    Being the youngest of four in a rough and tumble setting taught me to use my tongue, after I finally got over my speech impediment, to it’s full potential as a weapon of self defense.

    There are things that I’ve said to others in my life that I remember that will never come out of my mouth again… even to my enemies. If it taught me anything, God taught me to temper my words with my loved ones and others. Even in the heat of frustration and anger, the words are tempered and mastered by He that lives within…

    Praying for you and your message, Bill. That verse in James is a scary one…

    • cycleguy says:

      So many use it for a weapon of defense Floyd. Not big enough or strong enough to speak tough. I totally agree with what God has taught you and know He has had to do that with me as well. Thanks for your prayers.

  6. Ike says:

    It has been said…”It takes a baby 2 years to learn to talk and 50 years to learn to keep his mouth shut”. Now you know I’m at least 52 years old.

    There is a proverb that says..”Thou art master of the unspoken word..but the spoken word is master over you”. If you haven’t said it..you cannot be held responsible..but once you’ve said it…it can condemn you.

    We-(me)- need to be less concerned about the NSA listening to us…and more concerned about our Lord who hears everything.
    We are to “put off” and “put on”. “Put off” tearing down people and “put on” building people up.

    Prayed up Pastor.

    BTW…your Pirates are a very good “young” team. I used to watch your second baseman play football for Pine Richland. He could have played pro football too.

    • cycleguy says:

      Chuckle on the first quote Ike. 🙂 I love that second one. And I totally agree with you about God hearing our words. I hope my young Pirates make a whole season of competing and break the chain of losing seasons. 😛

  7. I love the book, Words Begin in the Heart. The words I’m reading, listening to, and reflecting on are most likely to come out of my mouth. I often try to keep from saying the wrong things, but I am so much more successful if I focus first on not taking in and meditating on the wrong words. Blessings on your message!

  8. Jan says:

    All I can say is you summed it up correctly and wonderfully. Words are a huge impact. I’ve had some experience on both ends of hurtful words, I so try to let what comes out of my mouth be encouraging or uplifting…..not always easy, but I try, try, try. 🙂

  9. One thing I struggle with is saying things that are TECHNICALLY not harsh. They sound nice. But the tone and body language is dripping with malice and sarcasm and passive aggressiveness, and it shines through. My attitude isn’t in the right place even though I try to pat myself on the back about my words.