Research indicates that every day, the average woman will say 20,000 words, and the average man will say 7,000 words.
Arising from this, two questions come to mind, “What kind of words do we speak? Do we use the words that we speak to hurt, to heal, to harm or to help?”
We sometimes use words simply and without much thought; but the questions posed here suggest that we need to pause before we use words, and when we do so, the tremendous power in words becomes evident.
It is awesome that we have the capacity to use words that can bring healing and strength to others. The words that we speak can add joy, enhance hopes, and sustain the health of the people around us.
On the other hand, it is sad that we have the capacity to use words that bring hurt to others. The words that we speak can destroy, tear down, break down, and devastate the people in our lives. Speaking hurtful or demeaning words to others can result in their failure and low self-esteem. “The tongue has no bone, but it is strong enough to break a heart”, so they say.
This, therefore, means that our use of words can have a positive effect on another person’s life or, in some cases, a negative effect.
The choice, however, regarding which words to use is ours; Proverbs 18:21 says that, “The tongue has the power of life and death”. We possess the power to replace negative words with life-giving words that breathe vision, dreams and hope. We can choose to use words that encourage, refresh, help, build, uplift, and edify. It’s inconceivable how much kind words from our lips can inspire the recipient to change for the better, to grow, and to have a higher self esteem.
We all love it when someone encourages and acknowledges us as we journey through life. We love it when someone tells us that we look great, that we have done a fantastic job, or that we are amazing. We too, should deliberately choose to use positive words to speak life into, and over, our friends, workmates, spouses, children, relatives and every other person that we encounter. We should choose to use, more often, words like, “excuse me, please, you can do it, thank you, may I, you’re welcome, how can I help, it’s going to be O.K., I forgive you, you look good, I am sorry, that’s impressive, and I love you”.
And when it seems not easy to speak positive words probably because of the intervening circumstances, we should learn to seek God’s intervention, and, just like David in Psalms 19:14, pray that “the words of our mouths, and the meditation of our hearts, be acceptable in the sight of God, our strength and our redeemer.”
I conclude with this quote by Gautama Buddha, “If you propose to speak, always ask yourself – is it true, is it necessary, is it kind?”.
