Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me
Wait--what?!
Where on earth did this taunt come from anyway? I don't know about you, but for me personally, I have found that bruises by the occasional stray rock heal much faster than a stray word. Have there been words said to you that seem to echo in your mind, maybe for years? I have recently been thinking on this myself.
One bright spring day when I was little (I'm not sure exactly how old but I was very young), I was happily singing in the kitchen with my mom. At the end of the song, we struck the last note and the small kitchen filled with one of the coolest sounds my little ears had ever heard. It had a sort of vibrating buzz to it. I felt it was possibly one of the most amazing things I had ever heard in my young life; I didn't want it to end, thinking it could never be reproduced. I eagerly looked to my mother - "Did you hear that?!" I asked, fascinated by the distinct sound yet tingling in my ears. "Yes," she replied, "that's because you were singing off-key."
Those few words made such an impact to me that, even now, I can still vividly picture the exact way we were facing, and were both standing, on the linoleum flooring in our tiny kitchen. I love singing, but, largely due to those careless words said, even now I'm terrified of singing by myself or loud enough that anyone can distinctly hear my voice.
How powerful the product of our tongue can be! I myself was convicted of this, after thinking about this very topic, and then with the perfect timing of this post over at Solo Femininity. I haven't read through all the links yet, but I intend to. I have skimmed a few, and from the looks of it, that's going to be...fun (ok, read: sanctifyingly painful). And what's the deal? This seems to be at the forefront of everyone's mind as of late. How ironic is it that the verse in Proverbs 31, pertaining to this very topic of words and gracious use thereof, is the very one displayed on my name plaque?
O that God, through His Holy Spirit, would grant me the grace, gentleness, and strength to harness my wildly flapping tongue and use it only for His good purposes - for praising and worshiping Him, for the building up of the Church, and for boldly proclaiming His name until He comes.
Where on earth did this taunt come from anyway? I don't know about you, but for me personally, I have found that bruises by the occasional stray rock heal much faster than a stray word. Have there been words said to you that seem to echo in your mind, maybe for years? I have recently been thinking on this myself.
One bright spring day when I was little (I'm not sure exactly how old but I was very young), I was happily singing in the kitchen with my mom. At the end of the song, we struck the last note and the small kitchen filled with one of the coolest sounds my little ears had ever heard. It had a sort of vibrating buzz to it. I felt it was possibly one of the most amazing things I had ever heard in my young life; I didn't want it to end, thinking it could never be reproduced. I eagerly looked to my mother - "Did you hear that?!" I asked, fascinated by the distinct sound yet tingling in my ears. "Yes," she replied, "that's because you were singing off-key."
Those few words made such an impact to me that, even now, I can still vividly picture the exact way we were facing, and were both standing, on the linoleum flooring in our tiny kitchen. I love singing, but, largely due to those careless words said, even now I'm terrified of singing by myself or loud enough that anyone can distinctly hear my voice.
How powerful the product of our tongue can be! I myself was convicted of this, after thinking about this very topic, and then with the perfect timing of this post over at Solo Femininity. I haven't read through all the links yet, but I intend to. I have skimmed a few, and from the looks of it, that's going to be...fun (ok, read: sanctifyingly painful). And what's the deal? This seems to be at the forefront of everyone's mind as of late. How ironic is it that the verse in Proverbs 31, pertaining to this very topic of words and gracious use thereof, is the very one displayed on my name plaque?
O that God, through His Holy Spirit, would grant me the grace, gentleness, and strength to harness my wildly flapping tongue and use it only for His good purposes - for praising and worshiping Him, for the building up of the Church, and for boldly proclaiming His name until He comes.
posted by Jennifer at 11:59 AM
1 Comments:
Don't we all have problems with this! Even us men need to be strong in wisdom in our choice of words. Boy do I hate it when my tongue gets out of control. It breaks my heart when I'm so flippant and careless with my tongue. James is smart when he compares the tongue to the rudder of a ship. It can cause damage and change a persons path easy!
However, it's interesting, that as the santification process begins in the lives of the believers. The first part of this verse becomes so evident... Proverbs 10:20, "The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; ..."
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