Haunting Words
Words bear fruit…
It is sooo good to be back….writing again 🙂
Happy New Year!!!
This blog post has been in my belly for a few weeks now. I literally couldn’t shake it off.
A few weeks ago my team investigated a case where a lady committed suicide. It initially drew my attention because she was older and those aren’t so common with older females. But the words on the note she left stayed with me…
She left a note to the effect saying….as a young girl I was told I would not amount to anything, and those words have haunted me my entire life…
My heart broke for that little girl….
It broke for that ‘seed’ that was planted and been watered over the years…That was never plucked up and destroyed.
The mouth is a powerful tool. And who ever said ‘sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but words can’t hurt me’…LIED.
The focal point for my church this month is discipline my mouth. And it is a great focus to incorporate even as we start 2019.
Proverbs 18 is loaded with wisdom on how we should and should not use our mouth.
My favorite is Proverbs 18:21 “Death and Life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits”
So, whatever we say bears fruit.
What about when we say “I was just joking?” There is no provision for careless words. It all bears fruit.
Some of our self talk is damaging…..and I know we say things innocently or perhaps ignorantly (not knowing its spiritual impact).
”I suck at math.”
“Girl, I’m not good with money”
”He’s so bad”
”You’re a little trouble maker”
”I’m so behind, I’ll never catch up”
Proverbs 18:20 went so far as to say that words satisfy the soul. The right words on a person’s lips brings satisfaction…
It is not only what you say……but how you say what you say…
There are many wounded men and women, little boys and girls all around us. And as believers we need to speak life to things that glorify God and death to things that don’t bring Him glory.
My final thought is a prayer for us to not just see the flaws in each other, but see destiny and purpose in each other. That we will declare LIFE over each other. May God give you soothing words today, even in times of anger. Amen.
What are your thoughts on this topic? And are there words that you still remember to this day?
Blessings
JC
Tags: death, destiny, fruit, God, haunting words, love, Proverbs, Proverbs 18, Provers 18:21, purpose, suicide, word, words
nopew
January 29, 2019 at 1:14 am
When we live primarily from ourselves everything that is said and happens matters! Malice still hits me hard, but as soon as I get back on the track of faith living for God, such things do fade away. John the Baptizer was really good at this as we know from what he lived/said, about Jesus. He said, “He must increase, but I must decrease”. When I can get “small” enough that there is no room for my ego, I burst out into vast spaces on the wings of The Dove. Not theoretically, but in tangible and hands-on reality. If I can use a simile, I am like a soldier taking my orders from General God.
Peace
JC
April 17, 2019 at 10:02 am
Hi 🙂
Many of us underestimate the power of words. We throw them around (intentionally or unintentionally). You said it well, ‘malice still hits hard’….it does. And even harder depending on the source. Sometimes we are the source of our own harmful words. Oftentimes we believe our own narrative more than we believe others, or God’s….
Thanks for commenting.
JC