UnShaded Revelations

My seven-year-old, Canaan, inherited my quick wit and sagacity. I find myself, often, telling him to “watch your words” when he gets out of pocket. Here recently, I began to hear the phrase with a fresh perspective. I realized, as quickly as I say it to Canaan, that God is teaching ME to “watch my words” in this season.

Here’s what we know about words: words can serve as a source of motivation, elevation, and inspiration, but they can equally function as tools of negativity, destruction, and harm.

To put it simply, I’ve learned that it’s not just the content of our words that matter, but also how we convey them. Both our intentions and the potential impact of our words are equally significant. In other words, intent and impact are equally important.

Watch Your Words.

A few weeks ago, our pastor shared something in his “Rumor Has It” series (Double Agents; go check it out on AFMBC YouTube page – shameless plug 😉) that I’ve been chewing on since then, paraphrased “we don’t often consider the weight of our words…our words have the potential to break someone.” Truthfully, words hurt. When we aim to love people well, we must consider the impact our words have. Learning to say hard things well (with compassion) is essential. We can say the RIGHT thing the WRONG way and WE’RE accountable for the outcome. The way we communicate might be the determining factor in whether we guide someone toward or turn them away from Christ. Colossians 4:6 advises us to let our conversations be filled with grace and seasoned with salt, so we can respond effectively to everyone. Our goal should be to uplift and inspire others, rather than tear them down. Just as we season our food with salt to make it palatable, we should also choose our words carefully to ensure they are agreeable and meaningful.

Another aspect God has been impressing upon me is the content of my conversations. Examining whether they’re helpful or harmful…whether they’re encouraging or disparaging…whether “we’re just pouring tea for the sake of pouring tea”…Ephesians 4:29 urges us to let no corrupt communication come from our mouths, but only that which is edifying and gracious to the hearers. “Corrupt” in this context could mean rotten, unpleasant, dishonorable, or harmful. Are our conversations rotten or distasteful?

Watch Your Words.

God showed me the profound impact of words through a conversation with a friend. While we are not God, we are created in His image, and thus our words hold significant power. Proverbs 18:21 (“Life and death is in the power of the tongue…”) is a frequently quoted scripture, but I don’t think I fully grasped its complete meaning until one morning Canaan mentioned it, recently (yes, my child gets me together without trying 😂).

Even further, how do you speak to yourself? Are the words you use during self-talk helpful or harmful? The words we speak to ourselves are just as significant as the words we use with others.

In short, our words have the power to motivate, elevate, and inspire, but they can also curse, dismantle, and wound. So if you find me silent, don’t be concerned or alarmed; I’m simply ensuring that the intent and impact of my words align because I’m watching my words.

– Chels