Day 4-

Words. Words can be an incredible gift. They can also be incredibly destructive. Driving through a high school parking lot today, I rolled my window down and called out to a group of students standing on the sidewalk. I asked one of the guys what his name was, and told him I really liked his glasses. His face lit up with a huge smile. I have to say, at many points I catch myself totally unaware of messages I am communicating to people around me.

Words can lift people up when we intend to. This is clear and fairly simple. What about when we are communicating to someone who has made us feel angry, frustrated, annoyed, irritated, taken advantage of, betrayed? How can we build them up with our words, while still communicating our hurt?

Some of Jesus' words while he lived here are quoted in the Bible. We can see from this how he chose to talk to his friends, enemies, and people he didn't know. God also gave us his word, the Bible. Sometimes I have felt like I can't use my words in the ways I see Jesus and God using words. The truth is that I can't, but the deeper my relationship grows with Jesus the closer my conversations resemble the words he would choose to say.

I say lots of weird things. I love creating new words and phrases. Sometimes people that I hang out with a lot, start saying these ridiculous things. It is natural for us to communicate like the people we communicate with frequently.


Conversation Possibilities-

Ask Jesus: Can you show me someone you would like me to talk to today?

How do my negative feelings effect my ability to build others up?

How can my relationship with Jesus impact the ways I talk to people around me?


Comment-
Please feel free to comment each day about your experiences, thoughts, or conversations.