It is true that sticks and stones may break my bones. It is very true that being beaten is a surefire way to get hurt. It is very easy for us to think that because we are not physically beating somebody up, that we aren't hurting anybody up. But is it true that words will never hurt me?
Have we stopped to think about our words? I was bullied in Middle School and some of the stuff that was told to me is still rattling in my head to this day, even though I am 34 and I have grown so much! It is not easy to forget what others say about you or to you.
Words destroy and build. They destroy in gossip, in insults and in unkind words to others. They build others in compliments and kind words. Sometimes, even the truth is hurtful. And we have to discern whether the truth we tell is kind and edifying or destroying.
Words destroy in gossip and unkindness. Have we engaged in gossip? Have we engaged in unkind words? Have we insulted someone? Have our words been unkind, even at the expense of someone else?
I was once told by a priest that words "kill". When our words kill, did you know that you should confess to a violation of the 6th commandment - Thou shall not kill?
Sometimes we take the attitude that because we are telling the truth it's okay to go ahead and be unkind. I agree that sometimes, there's no other way than to be brutally honest (like an intervention, for example) but let's be humble and not be above others in that sense. We can always be kind (even in an intervention) even when we are telling a brutally honest truth.
Have we stopped to think about our words? I was bullied in Middle School and some of the stuff that was told to me is still rattling in my head to this day, even though I am 34 and I have grown so much! It is not easy to forget what others say about you or to you.
Words destroy and build. They destroy in gossip, in insults and in unkind words to others. They build others in compliments and kind words. Sometimes, even the truth is hurtful. And we have to discern whether the truth we tell is kind and edifying or destroying.
Words destroy in gossip and unkindness. Have we engaged in gossip? Have we engaged in unkind words? Have we insulted someone? Have our words been unkind, even at the expense of someone else?
I was once told by a priest that words "kill". When our words kill, did you know that you should confess to a violation of the 6th commandment - Thou shall not kill?
Sometimes we take the attitude that because we are telling the truth it's okay to go ahead and be unkind. I agree that sometimes, there's no other way than to be brutally honest (like an intervention, for example) but let's be humble and not be above others in that sense. We can always be kind (even in an intervention) even when we are telling a brutally honest truth.
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