“The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences” : Proverbs 18:19-21
Words are like seeds. They have creative power. They also have destructive power. The Bible says in Isaiah: We will eat the fruits of our words. Our words tend to produce what we are saying. Everyday, we should make positive declarations over our lives. We should say things like: “I am blessed. I am prosperous. I am healthy. I am talented. I am creative. I am wise.” When we do that, we are building up our self image. As those words permeate your heart and mind, and especially your subconscious mind, eventually they will begin to change the way you see yourself.
We must be extremely careful what we let out of our mouths. Our words set the direction for our lives. James 3:10 says “With our tongue, we can either bless our life or we can curse our life” You believe your own words more than anyone else’s. Do not talk about the way you are. Talk about the way you want to be. Do not limit yourself. Declare that you are the child of the most high God and therefore a conqueror. Declare that you are an A student, that you will live a happy life, that you will excel at work and pray and believe that they will all come to pass. Declare that you are beautiful, you are filled with favor and doors will be opened for you which have been closed for everyone else.
Do you have a child, brother, sister or any person whom you sometimes think they are ‘useless’? Someone whom u always complain about or talk to condemningly? Do you know what that does? It makes them feel small and useless. It makes them feel inadequate and lowers their self esteem. When you condemn and talk to a child or scold someone everyday…using words like “You are useless”….” You are foolish” etc etc…how do you think that helps the person? The same way that your words impact your life, they also impact another person’s life. Everyone was created in God’s image and I am yet to see someone who does not react positively to praise and encouragement. By blessing and praising people, we make them feel much more important and we help them have confidence in themselves. No one is useless, no one is a fool. By abusing people, we are abusing God who made us all in His image. Use your words to get the best out of people. Let us stop abusing our baby sitters and house helps. It also impacts on our children. By treating those people badly we are also making our children look down on them and develop a snotty attitude.
Every time you feel like abusing someone, remember the good thing that the person may have done and instead dwell on that. I remember when I was in form five; I failed the first term exams. I knew that my mum would crucify me; I had braced myself and already put on a defensive attitude. But instead, she told me that she was proud of me and all the years I had endured through secondary school with no academic or conduct warnings. She said I should just remember that this was the GCE exams and it determined my future. During that same period, a teacher from primary school paid me a visit. He told me that he wanted to hear my name as the first called during the GCE exams; I told him that I was doing ten papers, not eleven. He said okay, he wanted to hear my name as first on the ten paper list. For a while, I had let my studies slide and I had forgotten that I could be a straight A student. I was not even among the first best twenty students… but when my teacher and my mum spoke to me, I started recalling that I used to be one of the best students in primary school and that somewhere I could still make up. I put my head down and started studying and behold my name was the first called as having ten papers in the GCE O’levels. My teachers’ words renewed my self confidence and raised my self esteem. But imagine if my mum had scolded and called me names, I would have sunk lower in myself and been defensive and adopted the attitude that I would do whatever because no one expects anything good of me. To this day, I have my teacher’s words in my heart and I always remember that someone out there has the confidence in me that I can be best. God has that same confidence in each and every one of us because we are His children and we have His gene of excellence.
Please let us use our tongue to encourage ourselves and other people. If someone is not behaving the right way, take their case to the Lord and leave it there. Let us speak blessings and favor to our lives and the lives of all those around us. Our words have much more impact than we think possible. The tongue is mightier and sharper than the sword. Learn to wield it and use it wisely. We cannot change anyone. Only God can touch a person’s heart and change them.
Be blessed and have a wonderful day with Christ.
