Friday, May 24, 2024

When you hear the word cursing, does your mind naturally conjure up all the offensive 4-letter swear words you know?

This past weekend, Ben continued our series, Friends, teaching on blessing and cursing. He defined a curse as something that harms or brings misery. His discussion was not on 4-letter foul words, but the words that are spoken over you that cause harm. The Bible does not say that words are profane on their own, but by how they are used. The same words that can be used in a good way, to build someone up, can also be used to tear someone down.

Proverbs 18:21
The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.

It is said that on average people speak between 6,000 to 16,000 words a day, with 150 words per minute when speaking. Take a minute and think about that. We have a lot of opportunities to speak positive words over others.

Words have tremendous power! Other people’s words have power over you, just as your words have power over others. You may not be aware that your subconscious has held onto curses people have spoken over you, until the hurt feelings just show up and make your life miserable. We need to pay attention to the words we speak, to avoid bringing death to what God says about others.

Ephesians 4:29
Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

Abusive language not only includes spoken words, but also things like the tone of your words, your facial expressions, and your body language. The Apostle Paul wrote these words to the church in Ephesus to raise the bar for the language you use. According to the Bible, your job is to encourage others, not break them down. Even when you have a hard truth to discuss with someone, it should be said with love.

This brings us to the bottom line: You have the potential to BLESS or CURSE in every interaction.

Ben discussed that for every curse, we should respond with a blessing. The blessing to “curse” words is to speak life instead. By living from God’s grace, we can bless those we interact with.

Questions:
Have you spoken words to someone that could be considered a curse? How can you apologize and speak blessings over them today?

Ask yourself the following three questions before you speak to others:

• Will my words build up and edify them or tear them down and become a stumbling block?
• Do my words fit this occasion at the moment?
• Do my words give them grace or condemnation?

Next Steps:
Always T.H.I.N.K. before you speak to ensure what you're about to say is Thoughtful, Helpful, Insightful, Necessary, and Kind.

Prayer:
Dear heavenly Father, help me to choose my words wisely so that I will not curse others. Reveal to me the things I say that I should not say. Help me to control my tongue. Thank you for the grace you offer me when I curse others through hurtful words. Thank you, Jesus, for taking my curse on the cross. It is in your glorious name I pray, amen.

Series Theme Verse:

Proverbs 17:17 ESV
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Today’s post was written by Jenn Macke, a regular contributor to the LivingItOut Devotional.