Listen to this devotion
Watch your words!
In the Word
Kind words are like honey — sweet to the taste and good for your health (Proverbs 16:24 GNT).
Of the Word
Most people don’t like the sound of their own voice. Caught on tape, they shudder at what they hear. That’s how it was for Marge. After listening to a tape of a speech she made before a large audience, she was dismayed at how irritable she sounded. Marge resolved to work at making her voice more appealing.
What we say and how we say it have a powerful impact on others. Kind words bring life, but cruel words crush your spirit (Proverbs 15:4 GNT). St. Paul urges us: Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you (Ephesians 4:29 GNT).
Kind, helpful affirming words strengthen our relationships with others and are good for our mental health, too. More importantly, kind words reflect our Lord and His love for all of us.
Walking with my Lord
Lord, forgive me when my speech is irritable and graceless. Fill my mouth with sincere and honeyed words that convey love and patience. Alert me to ways my words can help and heal. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Mustard Seed: Walking with My Lord. Author: Donna Streufert. 28/30 ©2007 Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, 801 Seminary Place Ste. L010, St. Louis, MO 63105. www.lwml.org
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations were taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked GNT are taken from the GOOD NEWS TRANSLATION – Second Edition, American Bible Society, New York, NY. Copyright © 1992.
