Plant Words Wisely

Plant Words Wisely

Sometimes [the tongue] praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! James 3:9-10

Recently I passed a local church displaying this on their announcement board: “Thoughts, words, and prayers are like seeds.”

As I continued on my errand, I pondered the truth of how even small thoughts, words, and prayers can grow to produce a mighty harvest for good or for evil. Memories of some of those seeds tumbled through my mind before I settled on one from my days in the corporate world. I had made a bad mistake on an order I submitted for my department in a major organization. But in the midst of my panic, I asked myself, Wait, what’s the worst that could happen because of this?

Well, I could get fired, was my immediate thought. I was confident no one was going to ship me to Siberia (even though the thought may have crossed a few minds), but I knew I needed to fix the situation. So instead of continuing to wring my hands, I breathed a prayer and went to the department head to confess. Inwardly trembling, I fully expected him to yell at me. Instead, he understood the lack of communication I’d gotten caught in and told me which unit supervisor could help me. Then, rather than tell me how stupid I was (I already knew that), he smiled and said, “This is not the worst thing we’ve had happen here, you know.”

Well, I hadn’t known that, and he was kind to point it out. Later, I was still so astonished by his quiet, professional response, I began to analyze my own reactions to others. How many times had my panic increased another’s trauma? How often had I ignored an opportunity to bring peace to an emotional storm? Those reflections gave me something to think about and work on.

Indeed, our thoughts, words, and prayers do produce a harvest. So, let’s consider their power and sow carefully. —SANDRA

Lord, help me to be aware of the power of my words. May I open my mouth to speak kindness, comfort, and encouragement when needed, and strength and loving correction when required.

Cold words freeze people, and hot words scorch them, and bitter words make them bitter, and wrathful words make them wrathful. Kind words . . . soothe, and quiet, and comfort the hearer.

—BLAISE PASCAL (1623–1662), FRENCH MATHEMATICIAN AND PHILOSOPHER