The Power of the Tongue

 

Abuse doesn’t just happen in trailer parks. It doesn’t just take up residence on the “wrong side of the tracks,” or to families living below “poverty level.”

Abuse happens on Main Street.

And, on your street. 

              
 
A friend told me, “My mother’s words have poked many holes into my heart.” Well into her sixties, happily married for forty years with grown children, the mere mention of her mother causes her to wilt like a flower deprived of life-giving sunshine. She is transformed from the white-haired woman in front of me to a timid little girl overwhelmed with unanswered questions spanning decades of verbal abuse, “Why didn’t my mother love me? Wasn’t I worthy of her love?”

 

Another friend shared, “My mother never wanted me. She would say, ‘I wish I could’ve left you at the hospital. If I could, I would’ve never brought you home.’” When I was a little girl my mother would say, “Go to your room. I can’t stand to look at your ugly face anymore.”
 
 

Sadly, the one who should love us the most, sometimes hurts us the most.

 

Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” We can use our mouths to encourage or destroy. Build up or tear down. “

 

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words may never hurt me” is a lie! Your words can destroy the lives of your children. They hold power over your spouse, over your family members, and your coworkers.

 

Will they “poke holes” in those around you for decades to come, or will they instill value and purpose?

              

We live in a broken world where “hurting people, hurt people.” Each of us has a “sob story.” Everyone has a secret hurt etched into their memory eating away at them.
 
 
Your hurtful words validate the unworthiness they already feel.
 
 
“You never know how long your words will stay in someone’s mind
even long after you’ve forgotten you spoke them.”
 
 
Words hurt. Choose them wisely.
 
 

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