“If I had a hammer”
Words are like hammers, they can build or destroy. I am often saddened when I hear parents speaking unkind words to one another or to a child. They may not think it will do any harm but little do they know the power of their words. Words can build the person’s esteem or kill any hope they may have of success.
Why do people speak unkind words?
1-They may not know the power of their words
2-They may have been hurt themselves (hurting people hurt people)
3-They may know and not care what they are doing
Regardless of the reason, unkind words should never be returned in kind. Romans 12:17 tells us, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. [NIV]” In the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Tom is degraded and mistreated by his slave master. Yet he never replied in kind because Tom knew Jesus and in reality Tom was free and the slave master was the real slave.
My late uncle, James Judge, helped me by the words he spoke to me as a child. He told me that there was nothing I could not do and I believed him. Consequently, I was the first person in my family to finish college and had the opportunity to travel to over twenty foreign countries all because of the words he spoke to me as a child. In my mind, there was nothing I could not do.
Words create paths for people to run on. When seasoned with words of encouragement, people are motivated to run on those paths. Your words can mean the difference between someone succeeding or failing. Your words can heal or kill. How then should we speak?
We should remember that we will give account of ever word (Matthew 12:16). Therefore, we should speak according to Proverbs 25:11 which states, “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. [NIV] Let’s go forth allowing God to speak through us so that all who hear will be edified.
Selah