Thursday, January 13, 2011

Be Chill. Don't Kill.

I'm sure many of you saw the title of this post and thought to yourselves "Gee, I can't wait to read this because that's one of my top sins! I really struggle with controlling my murder sprees." Relax. While there might be a select few of you who have squished one too many bugs in your day, (That is not a confession of any kind on my part...) I'm actually not referring to physical murder. That does not in any way mean I'm advocating man slaughter, because that's wrong too. I'm simply offering a new way to look at one of the commandments God gave us. I already had one post on words and their effect, but those were negative ways to use words. This post is focusing on lifting people up, how our words can affect people and actually kill a part of them, and using our words for good and not bad stuff.

All of us have heard at least ONE "Mom saying" from our relatives. For example, "Say that again and I'll wash your mouth out with soap!" "Our words should lift each other up, not tear each other down." Or my personal favorite, "If you can't say something nice, dont say it at all." While all of those little phrases may seem kind of cheesy, and believe me they are, I never really thought about the serious meaning behind the cheesiness. The reason our moms tell us to watch our mouths, is because they know how powerful our words can be. Our words are ridiculously laden with strength! I don't know about you, but when someone randomly says "Wow, Jessica, your hair looks freaking GOOD today!" to me, I'm on cloud 11 for the next couple hours or maybe even the entire day! On the other hand, if someone says something mean to you, it's ruins your day and it's difficult to forget for awhile. Have you ever wondered where the phrase "I was stabbed in the back" came from?  Usually, the person saying that is alive (unless it's one of those survival shows, where someone was literally stabbed in the back, which is horrifying and certainly not what I'm referring to) and was simply referring to someone who was betrayed (often words are used to do so). Words have the incredible ability to lift people's spirits. However, when you are not careful with what you say, you can end up squishing someone's spirit just like those poor little bugs you stomped on when you were five. (or eighteen...) Deflating someone's spirit like that, in my opinion, is a kind of murder. So...be chill; Don't kill. Just my 2 cents.

Proverbs 16:24
"Encouraging words are like a honeycomb; Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."

1 comment:

  1. You are a beautiful, smart, funny, kind, loving and tender hearted young lady!!! I consider it a blessing to call you my friend....Your mom and dad are sooo proud of you!!!
    I will NEVER forget the day in the bathroom at church when you prayed for me....that was one of those moments I will NEVER forget....you calmed me when I needed it...I know this will sound strange but how many 47 year old woman do you know that have a teenager they call friend???
    I am always here for you!!!

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