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Use pleasant words whenever you can

All praise to the Lord Jesus the Word of God who is all wise and humble and gracious to those who seek him in spirit and in truth. Glory to the Lord God the giver of all that is eternally good and eternally enduring. Thanks be to God for sending the Holy Spirit to lead us in all truth.

As the world which is away from the truth by the Lord God above you will notice its impurity in what it speaks. The movies keep getting more and more obscene and words in them likewise. What was unacceptable about 40 years ago in the movies is passed of contemporary language these days. More worse is, when they make the children use hideous profanity on-screen. And the worldly literature or what passes off as literature, has many books and articles which contain most shallow and foul-mouthed words. And depending on the reader groups the writer’s cater to, the vile words they use can be outright rude or willfully subtle. What a fallen world indeed!

O people of the Lord God, who call yourself by the name of the Lord do not fall into the world’s slime lest you become a part of it. Stay pure for the sake of the Lord. Practice wisdom in your thoughts, words and actions, so that all people who see you give glory to the Lord, and not find an occasion to slander Jesus Christ the Son of God, on account of your bad behaviour!

Today I write about speaking words that are pleasant.  This is going to be simple but effective if you put it into practice. I break it down into three things; thoughts, words and timing.

Thoughts when speaking

The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord, but gracious words are pure. (Proverbs 15:26)

What use is it to speak kind words to another when you have deceit in your heart? Have clear and pure thoughts that are presentable to the Lord God when you speak to anyone. For the Lord knows the heart of man. Many vile murderers and fraudsters have all the wrong thoughts though they may use pleasant words when luring their victims to death and loss. Be not like them all. Hate, pride, malice, jealousy, greed, deceit and the like are not the type of thoughts you should expect to be acceptable to the Lord God. And just imagine a seller, trying to be most polite to a prospective buyer, when trying to convince him to buy his house, but inwardly thinks the buyer is too dumb to buy the house. And then either by slip of tongue or by a gossiping servant of the seller the prospective buyer know the true mind of the seller. Then wouldn’t that buyer call off the deal before the sale is made? The seller may suffer losses financially and reputationally but what’s more dangerous is at the end of his or her life he is answerable to God.

So even before you speak pleasant words to others don’t have foolish motives but genuine respect and wisdom when doing so.

The words spoken

Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. (Proverbs 16:24)

When you have the right intentions why not speak the right words as well? Have the words that are truly acceptable in the presence of the Lord God. I can suggest a few such combinations as the following but do take due diligence and time to find more such words; thank you, please can I, that’s very kind of you, have a great day/weekend, good effort etc. There are people who have the right thoughts but fumble at speaking the right kinds of words that are actually pleasant. A word of advice to such people, God knows your heart when you speak so don’t give up on your good thoughts but please by all means do surely try to improve on the pleasant words you speak. In all humility, even if you are an adult take time to go through books or articles which suggest more gracious words. Be gracious as Jesus Christ when speaking to the poor, widows and orphans etc, for Jesus, never mocked the afflicted but spoke words kind and fully consistent with his Divine calling from the Lord’ so that people received their healing in mind, body and spirit.

So even as you speak use words that are actually pleasant and consistent with the wisdom of the Word of God.

The timing of the pleasant words

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear. (Proverbs 25:11-12)

Doesn’t it makes sense to have the right thoughts and words when its the right time to do so, rather than the wrong time? At funerals people cry out for their deceased loves ones in deep sorrow. Indeed what grief is there especially at the death of a parent or a young baby! It’s important to express your emotions at this stage. However coming to the point, I’ve seen people speak so well of their parents, when for most part of their life, they would neglect their parents or even speak rudely to them. Such is the tragedy of life, that  these very people are filled with remorse now want to talk good but the person who they are talking about is longer with them. If only such people could  make that time to wish their parent’s all things pleasant while they were still alive. It’s important to speak pleasantly to your loved one’s all the time for you don’t generally know the time of life and death. And when talking to people who are not relatives be it co-workers, government staff etc be sensible and alert enough to speak pleasant words at the right time. Because people can find a person who is pleasant for the sake of it at the wrong time, very repulsive! It’s very risky to thank your manager for helping you avoid the mandatory overtime (due to your illness), in the middle of a meeting with a delegation of clients who take pleasure in dumping loads of work over to all. You can instead thank him or her when such demanding clients are totally away from you both, if you get what I mean.

So always speak kindly to your relatives and loved one’s and speak in due time to the rest, so that you are truly wise steward of the time your Lord God has given you.

 

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Control your tongue when you are bitter

“A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” (Proverbs 15:4)

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” (Proverbs 18:21)

“Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.” (1 Peter 3:10)

“If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” (James 1:26)

 

For some to control one’s tongue when its pleasant all around is difficult. How much more difficult for them to keep it in check when their heart is filled with bitterness? As for the rest its still an achievement to control themselves when there is bitterness in their life.

However if we remember the words of the Bible then we should know the consequences of speaking the wrong things, the bad things and evil things. Let me make it real to you; there are considerable divorce cases going on which could have been prevented if either or both of the spouses would have not insulted each other by a very wide degree. Or there are people or children who keep running away from their parents because the parents love to speak evil words to them. Now, I don’t justify divorce nor unnecessary running away on account of such things but yes I do strongly recommend control of one’s tongue to prevent any further damage to oneself and others.

Some may say they didn’t actually mean it when they said things that were hurtful to others. That’s exactly my point. Don’t say things that you don’t mean to say in the first place and don’t make any of your emotions whether happiness or bitterness as your excuse for the same!

Make a decision this day to use your tongue more wisely. The benefits are many; better relationships, peace in your dealings with others, living clean and giving glory to God all in all. It’s up to you to control your speech but do pray to the Lord God for his healing and deliverance in this area.

 

You may pray like this:

O Lord God I ask through your Son Jesus Christ that I be holy as you are holy. Make my tongue an instrument of peace. Help me to speak words that are wise and life giving. Empower me by your Holy Spirit to not have be deceived by emotions whether they are mine or of others. In the name of Jesus, I cast out the spirit of discord and perversion of tongue from my life and totally reject the influence of all that is earthly, sensual and demonic. I pray that I be victorious in my life on the inside and the outside so that God be glorified all in all. Amen.

 

Quick reminder : Speak wisely as God knows what you say

“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. (1 Chronicles 28:9)

“I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” (Jeremiah 17:10)

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. (Revelation 22:12)

Cold words and hot words and the like

Cold words freeze people, and hot words scorch them, and bitter words make them bitter, and wrathful words make them wrathful. Kind words also produce their own image on men’s souls; and a beautiful image it is. They smooth, and quiet, and comfort the hearer.
-Blaise Pascal

Watch your words as they can shape your destiny

Watch your words for they become your destiny. Many people don’t realize how they shape their future by what they speak. For instance what you speak at an interview determines if you are selected for the job. By saying yes in your marriage service at church do you show your consent to marry and live with your beloved. People buy music not just for the sound of instruments but also for the words in the song lyrics.

Some people confess negative things for themselves and forget about it. Then after a few days tragedy strikes. I have dealt with such situations and found that there was a history of speaking in expectation of bad things to happen.

Remember that all the Israelites who murmured against God after he rescued them by taking them across the Red Sea. How they despised the goodness of the Lord though he provided for them in the wilderness. So as a result that generation of those who spoke against God’s plan of bringing them in the Promised Land never set foot into it. Their faithlessness and negativity led them into wandering for 40 years in the wilderness and living restless lives. It’s not days nor hours but forty long years. It was only the next generation of Israelites along with Joshua and Caleb who actually go to enter and inherit the Promised Land which is now called Israel.

While I also heard testimonies of those who were in grave danger but kept confessing that God will rescue them. As a result they survived when there was no chance to be saved.

The Holy Scripture mentions about a man who changed his life by his choice of words in prayer to God. He is called Jabez. Now, Jabez was named so because his mother gave birth to him in pain. By his confession of faith in God’s providence he obtained a wonderful heritage which was no longer marked with pain.

“Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, ‘Because I bore him in pain.’ And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain.’ So God granted him what he requested” (1 Chronicles 4:9-10).

So what you speak can affect your life for better or for worse. Its not just your prayer which must have faith in Christ’s goodness, it’s even your daily speaking too.

When you see and hear about terror say that the hand of God is able to save you. When people say why study the Bible when there’s so much sin around you say that you want to read it because you want to know more about the sinless Lamb of God. When others say that the jobs don’t come easily so why go to business school then say that God works out good things to those who trust him.

Just reflect on the following two verses:

1) There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health. (Proverbs 12:18)

2) Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. (Proverbs 18:21)

Some children act insecure because their parents keep calling them useless almost every day. As their hearts are very receptive the kids internalize such labels without discerning. By the time they are teenagers they develop low self esteem. Parents should avoid discouraging their kids with rash words.

There are kids who are great achievers only because their parents spoke good to them. It’s not necessary to flatter kids but speak kindly yet firmly to them.

Avoid bad language as it’s not fitting for prince of heaven nor a princess of heaven. God has given you enough salvation and intellect to make your point politely.

If a person speaks blasphemy against Jesus he is danger of hell fire. But if he asks mercy from God for insulting Jesus then he will be forgiven and he is back on the road to heaven.

If you have spoken with wrong confessions about your future and are facing the consequences would you be idle about it? I mean it’s idle to swallow the cow and choke at the tail. You may even say that you never spoke any harm to yourself but remember others who did speak unseemly things about your future but what can you do. You may wonder ‘can deadly words from anyone against me be reversed?’

My answer is that what is impossible to man is possible with God. Because with God all things are possible.

Maybe you said things such as ‘my race/ethnicity prevents me from getting promoted’. You have changed companies but you didn’t get a promotion. Finally you get into a company which has only people of your race or ethnicity. But still success evades you.

Here you need to take a stand. You can choose to keep saying what limited you or you can speak life into your situation. Say something like ‘I’m a capable child of God. Christ will make me the head and not the tail. I pray that every success that has been evading me come to me. I cancel the grip of every evil word spoken by me or someone else. In the name of Jesus. Amen’

Whatever you say let it be consistent with the goodness of the Lord Jesus. When speaking a positive word or just praying make sure it is consistent with the teaching of the Bible especially the Gospel. Because the word of God brings life for those who believe in it. Speak wisely therefore and enjoy the life and goodness which comes from Jesus Christ.