God gave each of us a voice in this world. We make choices every day about how we use our voice to spread light, joy, and love or to stir up trouble and disharmony. The words that we speak with our voice have power to lift another person up or down. Each time we speak, we make a choice about how to use this power to help or to hurt others. I cannot always tame the power of my own tongue, but when I do exhibit more self-control and wait to say something that I know I should not, I do not regret waiting. I hardly ever regret that I was slow to speak up or waited to give my opinion on something, but I have regretted words that I said carelessly many times.
My voice matters and yours does, too. We have influence with our words and how they fall on the hearts of other people in our lives. Are our words stirring up trouble and discord or are they lifting the spirits of others and pointing them toward Jesus? When we are speaking, what if we made the effort to stop and pause for a moment to think about how those words might affect the other person? I have failed at this many times, but as I continue to grow and develop, I hope that I make better choices about how I use my voice and what kind of words I share with the world.
Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians 4:8, "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Then, he writes that whatever they have learned from him, they need to put it into practice, "And the God of peace will be with you." When we focus our minds on positive messages, then we will have peace. Proverbs 16:24-25 says, "The hearts of the wise make their mouths prudent and their lips promote instruction. Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." Our words have the power to teach, instruct, sooth, and to heal. When we use our voices to promote these good things, then God can use us in a great way.
One voice can truly make a difference! How are you using your voice today? May we use our voices wisely and find a way each day this week to bring beauty, light, love, joy, and peace to the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment