Sticks and Stones

Everyone has heard the phrase "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." Today I'm thinking that the person who came up with that was either crazy or completely unaware of what people were saying about him (or her as the case may be).

I think it's a wonderful thought to hope that we won't be hurt by those things that people might say but the fact is that we can all be affected by the words people speak about us or about those we love. Both fortunately and unfortunately, words are the primary manner of communication and they have the greatest impact on all of our relationships. The great thing about words is that they can be used for such awesome things - the speaking of great truths or the soothing of hurt souls. However, on the flip side, they can cause immeasurable harm to others if we choose to use them unwisely.

I was reminded recently by some painful words spoken of me that in the same way that I can be hurt by words that are spoken carelessly, I can also hurt others. I aim to avoid that but when I don't think about what I'm saying and take the time to make sure that it is kind and encouraging I can definitely fall into a trap of causing harm.

All of this reminds me of the words that James wrote:

"We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check." - James 3:2

I hope to attain the standard laid out here in controlling the words of my mouth. May we all stop and think before we speak and assess how uplifting and appropriate our words are. Let's be challenged to set our sights on glorifying God with the words of our mouths!