Ephesians 4:29 BSB
Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.
Physical attack can harm the body, but words can crush the soul even more. That old saying about sticks and stones is wrong. We can do far more damage to someone with words than we can with a stick and the damage done is harder to heal. The harm done by angry words, false accusations, hate speech and condemnation is invisible to the eye but is slowly cutting away someone’s spirit. And don’t every say when that happens “it was just as a joke” or “I was just trying to help them” because no it was cruelty and nothing else. As Mama used to say “if you can’t say something nice don’t say anything!” and that means to their face or behind their back. We need to use our words to praise God, to lift up others, to speak the truth, to preach the Gospel but we must never ever use our words in ways that will harm another. That is not the way of God.
Prayer:
Teach me Lord, to be kind and compassionate and to use my words for you and never as a weapon against others. Forgive me Lord when my speech causes harm. Lead me to do better. Amen.
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