With God's Help: Devotions from Time of Graceናሙና

I wasn’t thinking

You know the old saying about sticks and stones, how words don’t hurt. What baloney! Words hurt worse than fists, and the heart-pain they give can last a lifetime.

When children are told that they will never amount to anything, they may believe it their whole lives. When a man tells a woman she’s stupid, her self-confidence may permanently be broken. When a woman treats her man like a child, he may live down to her expectations indefinitely. When a person blabs a secret about a friend in public, the friendship may be over at that moment.

“Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (Proverbs 12:18). The word "reckless" means that you weren’t thinking when your tongue was flapping. We all need to grow in the skill of tongue management.

In the meantime, we can use our mouths for their God-intended purpose--to bring soothing and healing to the injured victims of Satan’s attacks. It is amazing to me what great things can be done in a person’s soul by a few words: “You look pretty today.” “I liked what you said yesterday.” “You did a great job.” “I appreciate you.”