06/01/2026
The old adage that says “sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me” might have been written with good intentions, but it’s not really true. The truth is, our words hold tremendous power. Words can hurt, or they can heal. Words can make a person feel loved, or they can make a person feel worthless. Words can build up, or they can break down.
James 3:5-6 says, “…though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest. And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our members. It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”
Those are strong words, written to guard us from burning it all down with our words. While many people feel the freedom to “tell it like it is”, children of God should be very careful to season our words with grace. Sure, we are to speak truth at times, but even hard truth can be seasoned with grace and spoken in love.
It would be a tragedy if we used our words in such a way that we damaged the cause of Christ in our community. It would be horrible if we caused someone unnecessary pain and pushed them away from knowing Jesus. It would be devastating if we damaged relationships that God intended to bring us joy and support. But such is the power of the tongue. And we are all guilty.
Let us make a commitment today to be slow to speak, and when we do speak, may we speak in such a way that we build others up instead of breaking them down, that we put out fires instead of spreading them, and that we point others toward Christ instead of pushing them away.
