Monday, March 28, 2016

31 Day Writing Challenge Day 16 - What Are You Saying?

What do you think would happen if the idle words you speak on a daily basis actually came to life?  Remember when you were a kid and said, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”?  Didn’t you find out later in life how much words can in fact actually hurt you?  I think at times I’d rather take a beating with sticks than to be berated with words.
Are you aware of the words which pop out of your mouth without your thinking too much about them?  What kinds of things to you say about yourself, or if you’re a parent to your children?  We actually believe what we say more than what anyone else says about us, unless it is our parents.
Words are powerful; they can create and they can destroy.  If you actually got what you said quickly, I think we would really put a watch over our lips.  For instance, if you said, “its cold outside today, I’ll probably catch a bad cold.”  And before you went home you were sneezing, coughing and feeling like crap you would agree with me how important words are.
Yet what happens is words don’t usually manifest themselves this quickly, so you don’t see the correlation about what you are saying, and what you are getting coincide.  The words you say each day are like seeds being planted, and in due time when it comes harvest time, you will see the crop they have produced in your life.
And when it comes to the words you say about your children, this can be devastating for them.  Children come into this world not knowing anything, and it is up to their parents to teach them all the things they need to know.  Yet so many parents I’ve seen say the most horrible things to their children.  Things like; you’ll never amount to anything, quit being so stupid, what’s wrong with you, etc.  When the person who holds the most influence in your life tells you all the things you can’t do, or will never be, you will begin to believe it.
A friend of mine was asked to counsel a teenage boy, because his parents didn’t know what to do with him.  He tells the story about how the parents brought the boy to his office, saying, “We’re going to the mall, and will be back in an hour; fix him.”  After they left, he looked at the boy and said, “Do you want a Pepsi?” and then they talked about sports and school until the parents returned.
When they returned, he met with the parents separately for a few minutes and the dad asked, “What’s wrong with my boy, why’s he an idiot?”  To which my friend replied, “Your son thinks like an idiot because he feeds on idiotic stuff.  The things you say about him, and to him are doing more damage than good.  If you want him to do better, then help him to think better by encouraging him and belittling him.”
I’m pretty sure this wasn’t what the man wanted to hear, but it is true.  If you call your kid an idiot, and then he does idiotic things, who’s to blame here?  You’re call to do what the Bible refers to as calling those things which be not, as though they were.  Yeah, but isn’t that lying Dave?  No, it is calling forth what your kid truly is; you just haven’t seen the manifestation of it yet.

Remember, your kids don’t know anything when they’re born, it’s up to you to teach them, and calling them stupid and idiot won’t help.  Begin telling them who they are in Christ, and what they can do in Him.  At first you may not see it, but if you continue and be intentional about it, before long your child will grow into an awesome person. 

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