Words

Welcome back! Thanks for stopping by! Today, I want to talk about WORDS.

The old saying, “Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me” is a total LIE!!

I used to believe that it was true because I thought I was letting the words just roll off my back. However, the truth of the matter is that words are very powerful and they can either build you up or tear you down! The bible tells us in Proverbs 18:21 that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” That means the words we speak can either kill or bring life. Therefore, saying that “words can never hurt” is not true.  That is why we need to be careful of what we say, both to ourselves, and to other people! It is a known fact that we can be our own worst enemy. How many times have you spoken negatively about yourself? How many times have those negative thoughts caused you to make bad decisions? The National Institutes of Health (NIH) pulled CDC data from 2019 that showed suicide as the second leading cause of death in the US for individuals between the ages of 10 and 34. This could be due to words spoken by others, like bullies or bad parents, or words that were spoken by the suicide victims about themselves. Oftentimes, we are much too hard on ourselves. Even when we make mistakes, the results are not permanent. Someone may argue that a mistaken pregnancy is permanent, but I would counter that with the fact that 1) the pregnancy is not permanent because a mother will give birth eventually, 2) raising a child is not permanent because the child will become an adult eventually. Yes, being a parent will seem like it is permanent, but in reality, life is not permanent! Therefore, being a parent, or having a parent, is not permanent. Someone will die eventually… For that matter, even death is not permanent for those who live for Christ. Jesus died and rose again and true Christians will do the same, eventually.

I seem to have gone off on a tangent… Sorry about that!

Back to words and how they can affect us. It seems that most often, we use words to tear people down, even ourselves. However, it should be just as easy to use words to bring life! An encouraging word can go a very long way. This is why I try my best to be a positive influence in the lives of my fellow man. I also evaluate/check myself daily to make sure I am not being too hard on myself. More often than not, I must rebuke the devil out of my conversation so that I do not remain in a negative state.

Speaking of the devil, did you know that there are many conversations that we have with the devil on a regular basis? The consensus is that none of those conversations are good for us. Let’s face it! The devil is not here to give us hope! He has a very distinct job to do and that is to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). So, whatever you do, PLEASE do not let the words from the devil sway you to make any bad decisions. In my next blog, I will warn you about some of the conversations that we tend to have with the devil. You may be surprised… I have received insight from a very wise man who prefers to remain anonymous because all glory belongs to God.

Stay tuned to hear what the devil is planning for you. He is always busy, but we can stop him in his tracks. Knowledge truly is POWER and I am here to share the knowledge that has been shared with me! Until we meet again, I pray blessings for your life!

References: Read all about the NIH report on the CDC suicide data here.