Words

God spoke. God speaks. He spoke the world into existence. He spoke to Abraham, Moses, and Isaiah, just to name a few. God created us in His image, in His likeness, giving us the gift of speech.

Did you know or ever stop to realize that we as humans are the only one of God's creations with speech? Every animal and creature has its own unique way of communicating, but God gave us words.

God gave us words for many reasons. First and foremost I believe that He gave us words to praise Him. 1 Chronicles 16:8-9 tells us "Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell all of His wonderful acts."

Secondly, He gave us words and understanding of speech so that we can communicate with Him. We communicate with God through prayer and praise. All through the book of Psalms we see David speaking to God. David praises Him in Psalms 27:1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" David also prays to God in Psalms 15:3 "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer."

David even cried out to God as told in Psalms 3:4 "I cried into the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill." How awesome is it that we can cry out to Him and hears us?

Finally I believe that God intended us to use our speech and words to encourage one another. We should also use our words to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Mark 16:15 "And He said into them, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."

However, not all words are good. Unfortunately, many people use their words harshly. Often words can destroy. They can destroy friendships, relationships, marriages, jobs, and sometimes even the person themselves. We live in a world of free speech and media. Our society isn't geared toward being kind, honestly most are geared towards hatefulness. Israel has always had a rebellious attitude and the majority of our world today shares that same attitude, especially here in America. Isaiah 30:9 says "that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord." I believe that verse still rings true today.

So often words hurt people. The tongue is the most powerful muscle in the human body. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. I am sure that everyone reading this has had something mean said to them.

And although we may not want to or like to admit it, I am sure we have all said something hurtful to someone else. Yes, sometimes it can be an accident, but often it is on purpose.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." How extremely untrue this saying can be. We have heard this phrase over and over again. Maybe we say this to ourselves to help ease whatever the hurtful comment was, or perhaps we say it to the person who said the comment to seem tough. Very rarely do we say it and mean it.

One person I spoke with personally had an incident where what her friends were saying seemed rude to her, but her friends never thought their comments were hurtful. She told me this story. She had just been to a family member's wedding. She had her hair done at a salon, had on nicer clothes and jewelry, and had her make-up done more than she usually does.

When she returned home she went out to lunch with a few of her friends. She was showing them all the pictures she took and her friends kept telling her "that isn't you!" Or "You look pretty, but you just don't look yourself." She kept telling them that it was her and that she looked so different because of going to get her hair done, etc. She found her friends words to be hurtful, even if they didn't mean for it to be.

She told me that this happened months ago, but that it still bugs her. Sometimes mean words can stick with us for months, even years. Even as a child, hearing something mean can stick with that child for a long time. I know this all too well. I was bullied heavily in elementary school and Jr. High school. Some things have stuck with me all this time. I have heard things like "are you pregnant?" "You should wear makeup to hide your pimples." And my all time favorite, "you're kind of pretty for a day girl."

How is it that we are so easily able to say something mean instead of something nice? Our world and our society may play a big role. Also, it is our sinful human nature. Thankfully, through Jesus, we have hope and salvation from our sins. Every word we say is recorded by God. The average American speaks 11 million words a year. Think of what you have said. Think of having to explain why you said what you did to God. It's very hard to imagine.

So, how do we change the way we speak to others?

1.) Refrain from using attacking words. Words can be used as a weapon. We should be using our words bless others.

2.) Refrain from gossip. Be careful about the news you share concerning others. Someone once said "A gossip usually makes a mountain out of a mole hill by adding some dirt." There's no credit to who said this, but how true they are!

3.) Use clean words - pretty much self explanatory. Some words are just not proper to speak.

4.) Use truthful words. Lying destroys our credibility. Be honest. Proverbs 12:22 "Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are His delight."

5.) Use edifying words. Ephesians 4:29 "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the heaters." The Bible challenges us to use our words to help people, build others up, and not tear them down.

Transforming the tongue begins with a change in the heart. Our focus needs to be transformed. Instead of looking for the bad in a situation, look for the good. Instead of being preoccupied with ourselves, we need to focus on the interests of others.

Also changing the tone of our voice can make words sound differently. Or try adding more to what you say. ( In my class I used my sister as a reference, she has curly hair.) For example if I say to my sister "Your hair is SUPER curly today!" It can come off as rude. Instead I could have said, "your hair is curly today, it looks great."

Think before you speak. James 1:19 says "be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger." Listen to what the other person is saying before responding. Something to help you remember to think:
T- Is it True?
H- Is it Helpful?
I- Is it Inspiring?
N- Is it Necessary?
K- Is it Kind?

If what you are going to say doesn't pass this simple test, don't say it. Or tap into God's help. This help is available to us at all times. Say a quick prayer before speaking.

Jesus can transform and tame our tongue. He can give us the desire and motivation to change. Most of all, He gives us the ability to make the change.

Prayer for this lesson. " Lord we ask you to change our hearts, our minds, and our tongues to speak only good. Let us learn what it is like to never speak ill of anyone or anything. Help us to become more like Christ daily. In Jesus' most precious name. Amen."