Words Hurt

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…Spur one another on toward love and good deeds.’ Hebrews 10:24 NIV

There are an awful lot of people around on this planet. You've probably noticed one or two of them. When we come into close contact with one another the way we interact can leave us feeling good or bad about ourselves. We may think that the way we speak to each other isn’t a big deal but the Bible, uh... disagrees with us: ‘The tongue has the power of life and death’ (Proverbs 18:21 NIV). Starting to question something you said to someone this week now? Life and death may sound a bit extreme, but words have an extreme impact - certain things that people say can stay with you for a long time.
Words are how we come into close contact with one another. God created other people because He said it wasn’t good for man to be alone (cue Eve). But just being around each other isn’t enough. God calls us to be loving, and that involves thinking about how we speak to one another. Are we encouraging? Are we kind? You might think that it’s no big deal to casually rip your friends - just banter, right? Banter better. We’re better than that sort of joke that’s really a cheap mask for abuse. We should be helping our friends to be the best that they can be, because this being a human thing is difficult enough without harsh words.
 
What Now?
Time out. Today let’s pray through our messages - stuff we’ve sent and stuff we’ve received. Get out your phone, and ask God to show you specific messages or people to pray about. Then spend some time ‘receiving’ from Him what He might want to say to you.