"STICKS & STONES"

 

“STICKS AND STONES”

“Set a watch O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.”

Psalm 141:3 (KJV)

The saying that “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”, has no element of truth.  

When someone divulges information shared in confidence, that betrayal causes the injured person to be unable or unwilling to ever trust again.  Why?  It’s because it leaves them so wounded that they see everyone through the lens of mistrust & betrayal, including someone “God sent” to minister to them.  They believe that they must build a wall (sometimes impenetrable) to protect themselves from ever being vulnerable to that type of hurt again.  One writer (unknown) put it this way.  “A broken bone can heal, but the wound a word opens can fester forever.”  My mother who was a school teacher would put it this way to her chatty students.  “The reason God gave you two ears and one mouth is so that you would spend twice as much time listening instead of talking.”  James 1:19a  (NKJV)  So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 

What are you to do to use your words more responsibly? Ask the Lord to do for you what our key scripture asks.  Then, realize that what comes out of your mouth comes from your heart.   Luke 6:45c  (NKJV)  “...For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks”.  If you find that your heart is not in right standing with God or contradicts your testimony, then Psalm 51:10 (KJV)  should be an integral part of your prayer life. “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”

Many hearts have been broken, dreams shattered, marriages dismantled, self-esteem destroyed, and ministries toppled because of careless, often hurtful words.  May each of us commit to monitoring our words, conversations, as well as, motivations of our hearts so that we obey Ephesisans 4:29.  To see more of what the Bible teaches about our tongues and the use of our words, please read James 3:1-12. 

If this topic brings about a feeling of conviction, just ask the Holy Spirit to make you aware when your words are displeasing to Him and harmful to others.  He will do it.   I’ll leave you with one last quote (author unknown), “The tongue has no bones, but is strong enough to break a heart.  So be careful with your words.”

Blessings.

~CWP~