Sweet Talk & Actions

“There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.” 

                 Proverbs 12:18

We’re all human. We all do good. We all occasionally do not-so-good things too. We all triumph, and we all fail at times.  We’re all better at some things and not as much in other areas. We’re individually and uniquely made. How boring it would be if we were all clones!

You might do something better than me. And, most likely, I can pull something off better than you can. Does that make one of us better than the other? Our opinions may vary on an issue. Does that make either of us actually wrong?

God made us different on purpose. 

We can also be puffed up a bit and easily belittle and look down on others so much that their self-confidence takes a beating. We can leave others feeling injured, hopeless and maybe even useless by our actions and words; this shouldn’t make us superior either. 

Ever looked at a baby and talked  gibberish to them? Then the smiled and talked gibberish back to you? Sweet talk!

Our words can build up - or tear down. Even good intentioned words can sometimes cause wounds we’ll never recognize. The Bible says all kinds of things about our words and the tongue, and I’m as guilty as the next person. Sometimes we snap at each other because we’re having a bad day, stressed out or simply because someone isn’t meeting our expectations and we become aggravated. 

Proverbs 16:24 - “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.” 

We can also lift one another up. Yeah, it probably takes more work to build someone up. It’s easy to use reckless words, but a soft, positive comment can be medicine to the weary, discouraged individual who is feeling less-than. Choose healing, loving words. Pick words carefully! They will have one of two impacts - positive or negative. 

There are no “neutral” words! Words either tear down or build up. Chose and speak them wisely! 

I know we’re talking about words, but this concept applies to our actions as well. Not only our words! What do our actions scream out about us? Are we safe people? Do others look at us  as soft buffers or do they feel they need to protect themselves from us? 

Sure, it’s easy to say, “Don’t let other people get to you!” How many of us fleshly beings are always that strong though? If we’re honest, I’d say we all have been affected, or should I say infected, more than once by careless words and actions. 

I know I wrote a little about this several weeks ago, but it’s such an important topic. God spoke and life came into existence. He also spoke and a fig tree withered and died. Obviously, there’s a time for both, but what if we left the hard stuff to God and instead, practiced kindness and compassion?

Let’s be life-givers. Confidence boosters. Let’s cheer each other on. Let’s give grace and help each other grow. Let’s build each other up gently and put forth the extra effort to rejoice about another’s growth instead of saying or thinking they should have reached a higher mark. Let’s not have unreasonable expectations or automatically think others aren’t giving it their best. What if God was using our words and actions to others on us? How would we receive them?

One look through the Gospels and we’ll see how Jesus made every person He interacted with feel significant. From welcoming the little children, to making time for a Samaritan woman to His conversation with Pilate, Jesus never talked down to anyone. Even though Jesus knew Peter would betray him, He still spoke to and acted kindly to him. What about Judas Iscariot?!

A simple, encouraging word or comment can be much more effective and productive than a negative put-down.  A kind deed can be such an unexpected blessing and help to build someone up. 

We’ve all been guilty, but what if we all purposely worked on our manners? What if we did consistently what the good book commands us and model our words and actions by what Jesus exampled for us? Wouldn’t we all be at least a little better off?! 

A quote I read today “Be careful with your words. Once they are said, they can be only forgiven, not forgotten.” This is so true, and again, could be applied to our actions too. Go back in your memory bank and you’ll find all kinds of words and actions still there.  They help shape us - for the better or the worse. 

Jesus NEVER left someone feeling like they were insignificant , He left them better. 

Let’s work a little harder at being kinder to those we’re around. Our country is full of evil actions, words of hatred, and unimaginable violence right now. We need an outpouring of genuinely kind words and actions (and a turning to God) to help counteract the negative in our communities. If we’ll each be a bit more cautious and kind, make everyone we meet feel significant and speak to everyone we meet with respect, our world would be a better place. And so would we.  Let’s treat each other the way we’d want to be treated. Let’s practice sweet talk and actions! 

Can’t we all be a little bit more like Jesus?!