The Power of our Words

Today I want to visit about the Power of our Words. What comes out of our mouth represents who we are. I’m reminded of the little girl who named her dog Aunt Agnus. When a kind adult asked why she named her dog such a peculiar name, the girl replied, “I named her Aunt Agnus because just like my aunt she growls at people and barks about anything that upsets her.”
Well now, I wouldn’t want to be known as a growler and a barker -- would you? But it is true that we are what we say. If we speak kind and uplifting words we are known as an encourager. If we talk about our fears and worries all the time we are a worry wart, and if we complain continually we can be known as a whiner.

How do your words define you? J. C. Ryle said, “Our words are the evidence of the state of our hearts as surely as the taste of the water is an evidence of the state of the spring.” Jesus used a tree analogy to describe the root cause of the words that come out of our mouth. He said, “A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad.” He went on to say, “For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.” Matthew 12:33 – 35.

So what kind of tree (or talker should I say) are you? The real question is what is in your heart. Do you have a growing faith in a loving, forgiving and sovereign God? Does the peace of Christ rule your heart? When our heart’s focus is on the Lord, worries, complaints and fears are less likely to fly out of our mouths. If we have thankful hearts for God’s grace toward us, and love and mercy are at the center of our being, then we are less likely to allow criticism and gossip to flow out of our mouths. . This week ask the Lord to help you identify some words that you need to weed out, and replace those weeds with good words and praise toward God and encouragement toward others.

To help your kids grasp this lesson, ask them to draw several different kinds of trees. Invite them to draw different fruit on the different trees. Talk about just as a tree is known by its fruit, so we are known by what comes out of our mouths. Talk about the different kinds of words that can come out of our mouths. Always remember as moms, our kids learn best from our example. Ask God to help you be a good tree example in your home.

For the next few weeks we will be talking about filling our hearts and minds with good things and guarding our mouths from damaging words.