Frequent Faller

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue..." Proverbs 18:21

Have you ever stubbed your toe? What about stumbling over your own feet? Or tripping on your wayward shoestring? It would seem only logical that we wouldn't purposefully trip ourselves up, yet we do it quite often, though it might not be in the physical realm.

If there was a "Frequent Faller" list, I'd be close to the top because I do it all too often. No, I'm not proud of it and I hope to be deleted from the list some day; but God showed me this week that I sabotage myself on a regular basis. I don't plan it, but I trip myself up and cause myself unneeded discomfort just the same. How?

"Sticks and stones may break my bones..." - we all know the rest of this old adage even though it's quite untrue. You see, just a few days ago I made a terrible joke about myself in a text to a friend. At the moment my intention was to make a funny, (Yes, some of us have to work at that!) but the end result shook me to my core. Know why? The unkind WORDS we say (or think) about ourselves really are harmful and cause us unnecessary pain - and often much more than any stick or a five-gallon bucket of stones. 

Who can I blame this on? Unfortunately, there's nobody to blame but myself. While others may say words that hurt us, a self-inflicted wound is needless. Ever heard the statement, "I am my worst enemy"? I started thinking about negative self-talk and the damage it causes. I was extremely thankful God had shown me what I was doing and I made a silent promise to myself to "break" this bad habit with God's help. I wonder though, how many of you out there do this without realizing it?

If you are a Frequent Faller, let's make a pact together to kick this habit to the curb. We can do this! We have enough issues and enemies without adding ourselves to that list. And God is our biggest fan! He knows us inside and out. Let's not stub our toes or needlessly stumble and fall. Let's stand tall against any negative thoughts and let God's thoughts of us permeate and reign supreme in our hearts and minds.