Kind Words

Kind words are like honey —

sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. Proverbs 16:24

WE MIGHT HAVE JOINED in the chant “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” when we were kids, but we know now that this children’s rhyme isn’t true. Most of us have vivid memories of times when we’ve been injured deeply by someone’s taunts. But we can also remember being uplifted and encouraged and emboldened by someone’s words. Either way, we’ve been shaped by words spoken to us in anger or insult as well as in comfort and encouragement.

So as parents, we need to ask ourselves these questions: How are my words shaping my child? Are they like punches that my child has to duck from or deflect to escape injury? Or are my words like honey that soothe the soul and bring healing to my child from the injuries inflicted by the world around them?

Even when insults are offered in jest, usually the grain of truth in them has the power to sting. Inside every child is a subconscious mind, a storage box into which people and events are constantly putting ideas, and a place where self-image is being shaped and safety among others is being gauged. And even when our kids act as if our opinion means nothing and we think they’re not listening, we can be sure that our words are being heard.

When our kids head out into the world, they will be pushed around and put down. What they need is a home free of caustic comments, a place where they can retreat from the soul-crushing barbs of those who don’t care for them. What they need are parents who make it their daily aim to speak words of encouragement, words of kindness, and words of assurance to show them our unconditional acceptance —both in who they are today and in glad anticipation of all they are becoming.

Lord, so often the words that come out of my mouth are thoughtless, harsh, and cold. I need your Spirit to work in me so that my words to ________ will be filled with the fruit of the Spirit, full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.