Beware the power of words

We have to be careful what we say, because the tongue is a terrible beast to tame. Do we often consider what we say and who we are talking to? Jame said, "The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." James 3:6

I have a little story to share about my daughter, that illustrates just how sometimes we aren't aware of what we are saying or how we are hurting people. My daughter, who is 4, came up to me a while ago and wanted me to weave a rose into her hair. So I spent a few seconds twisting the hair together and the flower to make it stay on the side of her head. As I finished, she smiled in one of those cute innocent smiles and said:

"There, now I'm pretty."

I said, "Oh honey, you don't need a flower in your hair to be pretty."

She said, "Really?"

I said, "You are beautiful the way you are."

She said "But sometimes you call me nut head or goof-ball."

I said, "Does it hurt your feelings when I say that?"

She said, matter of factly "Yes."

I said, "Then I won't say it anymore, I think you are beautiful just the way you are."

The purpose of this story is to illustrate that we need to beware what we say, more especially be aware of who he are talking to. We can hurt someones feelings in a blink of an eye, and not even realize it.

It also illustrates another fundamental truth. When we realize we have erred, we apologize. By repenting we mean, I will do my best NOT to do it again. When I tell my daughter I will not call her nut head or goof-ball anymore, it is my intention not to do it. It should be the same with God. When we apologize to God for our sins, we should do our best to quit! We might slip up from time to time, but because we love Him, our heart needs to truly mean that we are sorry and that we are trying our best not to grieve his Spirit anymore.