Tag Archive | careless words

Not The Same Old Refrain

May8

This post is a part of the Five Minute Friday link up. We write for just 5 minutes on a one-word prompt, without heavy editing, and see what happens. Today’s prompt is “refrain.”

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night with the lyrics of an annoying song running through your head? It’s nearly impossible to get them out, isn’t it?

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Just like some of the words we’re so used to hearing in our own minds.

“You’ll never amount to anything.”

“Nobody really likes you.”

“You’re so dramatic!”

“That bad thing you did years ago? Yeah. You’ll never be forgiven for that.”

All of these things are lies coming from the Father of Lies. And they need to be replaced by a new refrain, “He has loved you with a steadfast love. He will never leave you nor forsake you. God so loved the world (that includes you) that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

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When the same old refrain starts running through your head, replace it with a new one. You are loved. You are valuable. You are a child of the king. Royalty! There is a place reserved for you in heaven. As far as the east is from the west, so far have your sins been removed from you. And He remembers them no more. You have been given gifts by God to be used for His glory.

And that amounts to a lot!

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Words Like Toothpaste

Feb23

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29 NIV).

Have you ever tried to put toothpaste back in its tube? It’s not an easy task. Some might even find it impossible.

Harsh or cruel words are like that: once said, you can’t take them back. They are forever burned into the mind of
the hearer.

A child, once told by an unkind teacher that he is dumb, will keep those words in mind unless many, many more come along to say the opposite. I believe they call that a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Remember that old rhyme? “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Baloney! Words are extremely painful and destructive.

I hear the words in my classroom: It’s too hard! I can’t do it! I’m not as smart as everyone else!

Where do those thoughts come from? I know I haven’t told them that. And I personally know their 1st grade and kindergarten teachers, and I know they didn’t tell them that.

Who knows. It could have been some careless passing comment from a classmate or friend; but it’s the one that stuck.

I remember negative comments from very early in my life, but I can’t always draw upon the positive.

“The soothing tongue is a tree of life,
but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit” (Proverbs 15:4 NIV).

Words, like toothpaste, can do a lot of good. But squeezed out carelessly, they just make a big mess. And they can never be taken back.