The Power of Words

May 29

We’ve all seen the tirades of parents when their children misbehave in the grocery store. Oh, yes, we know that beleaguered parents sometimes reach the end of their patience and vent in ways of which they themselves do not approve. Perhaps what we saw and heard was the tenth admonition to ‘Stay with Mommy,’ and it was the one that sent Mommy beyond her patience.

We assume that in Mommy’s heart of hearts she wants the best for her child and that her ‘normal’ discipline does not include the tongue-lashing that we witnessed. For the child’s sake, we pray Mother is usually in better control of herself and that the maternal instinct that seemed so lacking in what we observed was an aberration.

The Lord has wise counsel for mothers who are beset with the responsibilities of rearing their children and pleasing their husbands and maintaining their homes. First, He invites them to, “Cast all your cares upon Jesus, for He cares for you,” I Peter 5:7, and then He invites them to be mindful of the power their words have over their offspring. The Lord wants every weary mother, every weary man, woman, and child on the planet to be aware that He is their Burden-Carrier; and He also wants us to know that He fully expects that we will be mindful of the significance of what we say.

In Proverbs 15:4, Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived shares with us a bit of the wisdom in the matter that the Lord gave to him. Here he says, “The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life; but a sharp and deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.” The Lord has vested quite a lot of power in the little member we call ‘the tongue.’ In our tongue is the power to speak words of healing, blessing, prosperity, encouragement—life; but in it is also the power to utter words of condemnation and derision—spiritual and emotional death. May we be mindful of the choice before us—every time we open our mouth.