Sweet Talk

"Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell."
James 3:5-6

The spoken word. All of humanity breathes and thrives on them. They are needed. Useful. Usually. So, how amazing to think that something so little can be the very life or death of something....or someone!
Yet, the spoken word is one of the most powerful things in the whole of our existence. Ill-spoken words can derail opportunities, damage emotions, cripple dreams, stifle growth and ruin lives.

We are given multiple choices each day in which to employ words for their God-given use, yet we often take the low road and use them for evil.
Often, we use them harshly against those we care for the most.

Take the obnoxious, belligerent woman, which is so against God's order. Forget women's lib and equal rights. I'm sure it's as disgusting to God as it is to me, hence the multiple scriptures included in the Bible against such foolishness. The story of the nagging, negative wife is all too familiar to us. She seems to be everywhere--the checkout, the mall, the resturant. Constantly barraging her husband with nagging, disrespect and sarcasm. Slowly eating away at his morale, attacking his masculinity and discrediting his character. He could never do enough to please her, and she makes sure he know. Sadly, once she assualted him enough, he probably has nothing left for her. Thus, a cycle begins. Words used for damage. In fact, the word choices in this paragraph probably left you with a tightness in your chest or stomach..because words are that powerful.

Yet, gently spoken, love-guided words can restore broken trust, heal wounds in children, bring peace to homes, and give damaged soldiers the hope of love.
When spoken, they fortify a husband's desire to protect his wife and give the daddy assurance he can make it through the tough assignment at work. Gentle words equal life. They are the life-blood of relationships.

There is a story told of a young couple that have a tragic accident, crippling him and leaving her in a coma. He was finally able to manuever a wheelchair and was at her side every day telling her that he needed her to wake up....that he loved her and wanted to finish life with her by his side. He continued this for months. In the back of his mind, he worried that once she woke up, that she wouldn't want him anymore, because he was crippled. Yet, he spoke to her and read to her every day. She finally awakened and wanted to know everything that had happened to them. He finally told her of his inability to walk and his doubts about her desire to be with him. She sat up in her hospital bed, slowly getting out of the bed. She grabbed the back of his wheelchair, put one arm around his neck and said, "Baby, I would never want to miss out on all this fun. Let's go for a spin".

No doubt he was humbled by her love. Her words were the hinge on which the door of their future rested. He was the familiar voice calling her from the arms of death, and she spoke the love laden words that allowed him to dream of their future together.

And so it is with us.

We may have to allow someone else's need and opinion to take precedence over our own. We may have to quietly nod when we have a mouthful of words. We may have to be brave enough to apologize and humble enough to speak encouragement. We may need to say less of what we think. We may need to speak more safe words...soft words... sweet words.

Go sweet talk somebody. :)