Words

"Stick and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Whoever coined that phrase, was wrong. Words are very powerful.

What makes people say cruel things? Today Soaring Amongst The Clouds had three hurtful things said to her. One of those things was said about her, not directly "to her". The strange thing is, this person doesn't even know her. She's never met my Fair Maiden. How can someone make a comment (and a hurtful one at that) without even knowing anything about her? The other two were from a fellow college student. First he made a rude comment about her not being in class on Wednesday. Then he told her, "You are the grass people walk on." Granted, he was "smack talking" to her while he was playing a tennis match against her. He was trying to "psych" her out, but still! Why are people so rude, crude, uncaring and insensitive?

Years ago, when our children were wee ones, we watched Bambi. The little rabbit, Thumper, was reprimanded by his mom when he made a "not so nice" comment about Bambi. The phrase stuck with us. I have often quoted Thumper's mom, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all".

"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers."- Ephesians 4:29

I STRONGLY believe in the scripture above, well not just the one above, but in scripture period! It's so much better to edify than to tear down. You can see it in people's faces when you say something nice or positive. I personally don't enjoy being around negative, nagging, rude, uncaring people. They tend to bring my spirit down. Years ago, I had a friend who was "difficult". She didn't have many friends because she wasn't an easy person to get along with, but I just accepted her as she was. My Knight always knew when I had spent some time with her. He would tell me, "Oh, you were with so-and so today right?" She sucked the life out of me. God has a funny sense of humor, cause people like this tend to gravitate towards me or should I say I gravitate towards them. I don't know which. Oh, let me clarify this, not ALL my friends are like this. :o)

All this to say, the words we speak make a difference. You can make some body's day by saying a kind word. You can put a smile on some body's face by saying something kind. A nice gesture goes a long way. It creates a ripple effect.

Remember that Jesus died for you... being nice to someone else is the least you can do.