Women and Words

My "God Time" This morning was spent thinking about the power of words and praying for and expressing my gratitude for the incredible women in my life who have used their words in such a powerful way in my life.

All of this stemmed from an interaction I had yesterday with a former neighbor, who I have not spoken with in years, except the "hello" in passing. This woman is involved in just about every social group in the community - sports, PTA, you name it. I have witnessed as this woman destroyed a friend of mine with her words and her rumors. It really got me thinking...

As women, we have the power to destroy or build one another up just with our words. There is so much power in the words we speak. We have the power to truly change other people's lives - and we can do it in a positive or negative way. Women, in particular, seem to find it very easy to tear each other down with words. I believe this is due to our competitive nature and often stems from insecurity.

It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.

This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you ca't tame a tongue - it's never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth.

James 3:5-10MSG

In my 40 years, I have encountered many women who used words to set off a forest fire. I have been burned at the words women have used. I know that in my own time of not knowing my worth and value, I have hurt other women with my words. But as I have grown in Christ and learned how to discern true friendship and have found some very special women who, with the power of their words, have lifted me up, given me courage to fight, helped me heal and empowered me to be everything that God designed me to be. These are the people we begin to surround ourselves with when we know who we are in Christ.

I believe that women who use their words for harm are women who do not know who they are in Christ. They do not know His unconditional love and that they are unique and perfect in His image. The women who know how to use their words to build up and love other women, it is our job to reach these women in love. We must be intentional. We must decide that we will use our words to bless other women.