Our Foundations:

We live in a verbally abusive society. Our minds are bombarded with cursing and angry tones, with sarcasm and profanity. Often the people whom we love the most are the ones who must bear the brunt of our anger and frustration. Our words are powerful and they have a profound effect on those upon whom they fall. We have the power to tear someone down in an instant with our tongue, and we do it every day without thinking about the consequences.

I have met many people who are so broken hearted and beat down from constant verbal abuse that they have lost all self esteem and confidence. They have come to believe all the horrible things that they have heard about themselves over time. Words are powerful! Proverbs 18: 21 reads “Death and life are in the power of the tongue”. How we wield such a mighty weapon and do not even perceive our own strength or the destruction we leave in our path, or the destruction we cause in our own poor souls.

There is an up side to this as well. Remember the verse in Proverbs we just read? Well we must see that although death is in the power of the tongue, so is life! God encourages us in the book of Deuteronomy 30:19 to “choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live”. If with my tongue I can beat you down, then I can choose life and build you up as well. I can encourage you and strengthen you and bring to your mind all the beauty that I see in you. With my words I can share my love and you will believe me over time. When I express my thoughts with honesty and kindness, what I say will be easy to receive. When I speak kind words I will sow life, and when I sow life, I will reap life. This principle was established before the foundation of the earth was laid, and it is as sure as the air we breathe.