My friends, today is Palm Sunday; the celebrate triumphant our day we Lord’s entry into Jerusalem, with the people singing “Hosanna to the Son of David”, only to change that chant, five days later, to “Crucify Him, Crucify Him!” The First Reading (Isaiah 50:4-7) has these words to say, “The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them” (Isaiah 50:4).
Words, as it is said, have power—the power to build people up or to break them down, to inspire or to castigate, to strengthen or to destroy relationships, to encourage or to denigrate, and to shape the course of other people’s destiny. Bottom-line, the words we speak, either to ourselves or to others can make the difference between success and failure; between life and death.
It is therefore imperative that the words we speak to the self be words as we would speak to someone that we love dearly. Our self-talk needs to be positive, encouraging, motivating, uplifting, and capable of instilling belief in ourselves and hope within the self. We need to remember that our words become our world, as Scripture says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. The words we speak to ourselves need to be words that elevate our attitude for our attitude always determines our altitude in life.
When it comes to others, we need to choose our words carefully before we utter them, because our words, which may not have meant much to us at the time it was spoken, could create a life-time negative memory in the mind and hearts of those who heard it. Our words may be forgiven but they are rarely forgotten and even when people forget our words, they seldom forget how we made them feel. It is important that we strive to leave someone we love with loving words because it could be the last time we may ever see them. Scripture says, “Let every word that comes from your mouth be such that will edify those who hear it”. It is never wholesome to tell anyone that their dreams are stupid, foolish, or outlandish because nothing can be more humiliating than this, and it could even be tragic if they begin to believe it. It is important that we avoid mixing our words with our moods because our moods can change but our words, once spoken, cannot be taken back.
So my dear friends, let every word we speak be words that uplift, and never words that tear down! Let our words give others confidence in their abilities and the self-belief required to take risks for success! Let our words lift others off the canvas if they have fallen, encourage them if they are discouraged, help them walk taller if they are beginning to feel short, and give them the driving spirit they need to do things that they couldn’t dream of by themselves. Words are powerful, and therefore, let us use them to create and give life.
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