TueJun262012
I love words…I love learning new words, playing games that involve words, reading words, using words to talk with people…but sometimes my words get me into trouble because I’m not always great at thinking about the effect my words might have before I open my mouth to speak them.
I’ve been aware for years that my words hold great power – I can build up or tear down with only a few syllables uttered. The Lord has been gracious to me and grown me in the area of words but I know I still have a long way to go as I seek to become more like Christ.
Last week a friend sent me a blog and out of that blog I picked four verses that I’m going to memorize this summer. I titled a page “My Words Should Be…” and have these verses hanging on my bedroom mirror as well as on my desk:
My words should be:
Edifying:
"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
Ephesians 4:29
Gentle:
"A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Proverbs 15:1
Self-controlled:
"A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.”
Proverbs 29:11
Compassionate:
"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32
There are a few women in my life who I really look up to when it comes to the words that they speak…these women are treasures to me – they challenge and encourage me by how they reflect Christ. I long to be like the woman in Proverbs 31:26 who “opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”
Once again I’m looking at my heart and recognizing that the overflow of my heart is what pours out of my mouth…working to fill my heart with Christ and his word so that becomes the overflow!