Words Of Life

Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

Proverbs 15:4

When gentle words are planted, hope, courage, and confidence grow. As the proverb for today declares, gentle words bring life. Such words dispel discouragement, banish the blues, and bring out the best in people. They release potential, light our paths, and spur us on to amazing accomplishments. The contrast in this verse is clear and gives us a real promise to count on: when we speak kind, loving words, they heal and help others; but deceitful words crush and wound the human spirit.

In this high-stress, broken world, I see children, spouses, grandparents, friends, and other people we meet every day who long for the blessing of encouraging words. In fact, they need this as much as plants need water. During the summer of 2011, our state of Oklahoma went through one of the hottest, most severe droughts in history. With more than fifty days of constant, over one-hundred-degree heat, trees died, hundreds of farmers’ fields dried up and yielded no fruit or vegetables, and destructive fires raged, destroying homes and futures.

That’s a picture of what our souls become without the life-giving effects of encouraging words. Think of the potential of gentle words, the life and encouragement that can come from them. I love what Max Lucado said: “Plant a word of love heart-deep in a person’s life. Nurture it with a smile and a prayer, and watch what happens.” To whom can you speak a gentle word of life today?

Lord, I confess that not all my words are gentle and kind. When I’ve been impatient or angry, my words have hurt and wounded others. Grant me the grace of your Spirit to speak gently and lovingly so that life will grow in others’ hearts.

If your words have cheered one failing heart

Kindled anew one fading altar fire,

Your work is not a failure;

Chords are touched that will re-echo from the angel choir.

Cynthia D. Harvey Thomas (1841–?), American poet