Real Hope: Building Others UpSample

Words From the Heart

I was in the supermarket the other afternoon, trying to decide what tea flavor to buy when I heard a father berating his child.

‘You’re stupid. Hopeless. Good for nothing.’ My heart broke. What could the child possibly have done to deserve that kind of damage?

Proverbs 18:21 tells us that ‘death and life are in the power of the tongue.’ In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus Himself tells us that ‘… the words you speak come from the heart’. I couldn’t imagine what was in that father’s heart to say such things to his child. If we aren’t speaking from a position of love, then our words will do damage. If we aren’t bringing all our thoughts to the Lord, then what we say will tear someone down and won’t build them up. We must examine what is going on in our hearts because our thoughts are formed long before they reach our lips.

Our inner peace is determined by our relationship with Jesus. Our peace grows as our relationship with Him deepens.

If we start bringing all our thoughts, concerns, and feelings to Jesus, the thoughts that might end up as harmful words will no longer be a problem for us. We eventually speak from Christ’s love for each of us, the same love that drove Him to the Cross in the first place. He is in our hearts and will guide how we speak and act. He creates in us a clean heart; He renews our spirit and makes us right.

With our hearts set right, we will be encouragers.

Written by CHRIS PARFOOT