What Is The Impact of Your Words?

Our words are so incredibly powerful; the words we speak to others and the words we speak to ourselves.

Our words can delight the heart or devastate the mind.

They can be instruments of peace and hope or chaos and destruction.

We can wield them as weapons or whisper them like salve over deep wounds.

We all know the power of our words, and yet we speak them with such carelessness, such blatant disregard for the impact they will make upon landing.

There is an ancient biblical proverb that says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue . . . "

The Power of Death and Life

I had a friend of mine who's father went into surgery for a minor hernia repair.  No big deal, even given his advanced number of years.  They were assured it was a very simple procedure; he'd be in and out before they knew it.

After some time, two doctors came out (they never deliver bad news alone), each removing their surgical caps, almost in unison.  She and the rest of her family stood up, surprised and each sensing the impending doom that had sucked the oxygen out of the room.

Due to a slight error in the way some medication was administered, a medication designed to regulate his heart rate during surgery, her father had suffered a heart attack and they could not revive him. He died on the table.

Imagine the shock of that.  A simple medication, designed to give life, but instead delivered a deadly blow.


Thus is the impact of our words.


Though they have the power to give life, if spoken carelessly, they can bring death and destruction.

Choosing My Words

I have thought so much about my words lately; about the ones I speak, and the ones that remain thoughts in my head, threatening to spill out over those I love . . .


. . . and those I struggle to love.


God gave each of us the ability to speak. He also gave us the power to give life, and hope, and encouragement with our words or to use them to bring devastation and destruction.



All that to say, we have the power of death and life on the tip of our tongue. Today, for one whole day, speak each word as a gift and measure the life that it brings to your soul.

Day 24: Micromanaging

Mike, you know how much I love you.  You married me.  You gave me two beautiful sons and then allowed two beautiful daughters into our lives.  I'm so grateful to you.  I really am.

Would you help me?  I need you so much.  You are the only one who can help me.  I need a bigger house.  Of course if you give it to me, I'll praise your name.  I'll tell all my friends what a great husband you are.  If you'll just get me a bigger house, I won't ask you for anything else.  I won't.  And you just can't imagine how grateful I will be.  It's just that you know how much I need a bigger house. And you told me when I married you that you would fulfill all my dreams.  So, I'm asking.

Also, I worry that we will run out of money.  No you've never allowed us to run out of money in our entire married life.  You've never given me any reason to believe I should be worried about a place to sleep or food to eat or clothes to wear.  But I can't help but worry.  I'm worried.  Deal with it.

And while I'm thinking about it, I'm kind of curious about some decisions you've made lately about running our family.  I mean, of course I trust you, it's just that I wish you would do things my way instead of yours.  I'm clearly an intelligent woman.  So how about if we just do things my way for a while and see where that gets u?  I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

And I guess while I'm at it, I would like to talk about the way you've been interacting with other people.  In short, I don't like it.  You the man of my dreams.  I fell in love with you because you were so loving and kind and gentle, and yet . . . lately . . .you haven't been so loving and kind and gentle in my opinion.  Yeah, I get the whole, you're the leader of our family, but really, tough love?

I think you should find our son a job when he graduates from school.  I think you should do everything in your power to help our parents and brothers and sisters be well, and wealthy, and safe.

I think you make sure the details of our adoption fall into place.  That's not a bad thing.  Surely you can manage that for us, right?

I also think you should do everything in your power to make sure we are all happy.  Happy, and healthy, and safe.  You're the man.  You're the husband.  The Father.  Just do it. 

. . .

All that to say, I feel like I have this conversation a lot . . . only with God, not my husband.  Pretty sure He's not a fan of my micromanaging either.

Day 43: Choose Your Fruit

I read a book called, "Axioms" by a man named Bill Hybels. Bill says in chapter one of his book, "Words Matter."

Words do matter. Even one word can change the emotional weight of a sentence.

For example, that this sentence.

"I dislike chocolate."

What if I changed it to, "I hate chocolate."

Feels different, right?

What if instead of saying something was unhealthy, I said it was "toxic"?

Again, feels different, right? And in each sentence, I only changed one word.


Words matter. They have weight. They have value. They can build up or tear down. They can motivate or discourage. That can soothe or inflame.

Imagine what each of our lives would be like if we recognized the power of our words . . . the power of our tongue. "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they that love it shall eat of its fruit. - Proverbs 18:21"

All that to say, choose your words, but better yet, choose the fruit of your words.