Beware of our words

Recently, I have been busy dealing with bad publicity in relation to one of our subsidiary companies. I decided to do a google on the company, and guess what? The search that came up 1^st was a blogger who complained about our management service! As I took time to go down the list (that lasted nearly 2 days), I realized that there were numerous positive remarks made by others but the one that drew the most attention, was the blogger who complained!

A friend commented to me “Bad news spread like wildfire” How sad but true! Centuries ago, King Solomon wisely wrote:

 “Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit – you choose”.

We may not be aware of this, but what we speak can kill or give life. And in this secular world where people are willing to pay for getting the latest gossips, bad news seem to “sell” better than good news! This is in direct contradiction to what the bible teaches, as we are called to speak life and positive words.

For some time, I find it hard to believe that positive words could have such power until I tested them on my son, Joseph. Instead of my normal replies “I am not happy with you kicking Clarissa today”; I have decided to embrace some positive words “I am very happy that you have kept your toys” and “I am very happy that you have not stayed angry for a long time”.

Gradually, I notice that Joseph became more receptive towards what I had to say. The best part of it is, he starts to speak positive words too! Whenever we traveled by car, Joseph has a tendency to bring his toys, more than his hands could carry with him. The worst part would be when the car is moving, Joseph would drop one of his many cars. Normally, I would need to twist and turn, get myself into all kinds of awkward positions in order to retrieve the toys for him. However, this came to a point when I was getting car sick and I had to tell him firmly that he will not be getting his fallen toy until the car had stopped. For a few months, he would be crying and screamming his head off. Finally, in our last trip, the same thing happened again. Before I could tell him the “bad news”, he said “Daddy, when you stopped the car, could you pick up my toy?” 

Speaking positive will bring about positive changes to both the person who said it and the one spoken to. And to stay positive (as this may not come naturally), is to read His words and dwell in His promises as by so doing, we could find strength, both mentally and physically.

“No human being could subdue the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people made in God’s image. From the same tongue came blessing and cursing. These things should not be so, my brothers and sisters”