REJECT OR RECEIVE?

Not long ago, someone made a false, intentionally hurtful comment about me. Instead of retaliating in anger, I immediately replied, “I reject your words, and I don’t receive them.” 

Yesterday, we discussed the power in the spoken word for both good and bad. When we vocalize a thought, we validate it in our minds and give it power outside ourselves. Proverbs 18:21 warns us that death and life are in the power of the tongue. Knowing the damage that hurtful words can cause, I knew I had to deal with the false comment swiftly. By vocally rejecting the negative sentiment and saying “I don’t receive your statement,” I declined to offer a handshake and avoided making an agreement. 

To my surprise, the person who made the comment replied, “You’re right, you’re right, I shouldn’t have said that.” Even my accuser agreed with my rebuttal, proving that my words for good were stronger than the words intended to harm. 

We must be diligent in rejecting negative, dishonest, or unnecessary comments. Nature abhors a vacuum, so rejected lies can still impact us by taking root in our subconscious and affecting our self-image. The solution is filling the space with truth. When we find ourselves practicing the bad habit of negative self-talk (being our own worst critics), the cure is replacing the damaging thoughts with the truth of scripture. 

For example, Psalm 139 reminds us that we should “praise God because we are fearfully and wonderfully made” and Ephesians 2:10 says that “we are His workmanship.” Knowing that we are made in His image, we don’t want to insult the Creator by insulting His creation! 

 On the other hand, when kind words are spoken to us, resist the automatic impulse to reject the statement by saying things like, “that’s not true,” or “I don’t feel that way.” Instead, receive the compliment by saying, “Thank you for saying that to me.” When we reject compliments, we are stealing the blessing from both ourselves and the person offering the compliment. Accepting a compliment is doing a kindness for both people.

THINK ON THIS

“Words are containers for power. You choose what kind of power they carry." – Joyce Meyer