James 3:5-6

A few months ago a very well-known church in the town next to where I live caught fire and basically burned completely down; the frame walls remained, but they were held up by a lot of 2x4's post-fire so that they would not fall. After that happened, my best friend made this post on Facebook that I copied, started a post on here, and then saved for a later date... 
This was her post:


I read in the paper today that the likely cause of Ada's church fire yesterday was an unattended candle that was close to combustable products. That made me think of how just something so little and simple can turn into something so big. And that made me think about how the words we say...even the small ones...can affect those around us negatively. Think about the things you say before you say them. 
"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."
James 3:5-6 MSG


When I read what she wrote it really got me thinking about how important the words we speak are. I think all too often we forget that words hurt, and words are the cause of a lot of issues we deal with. And honestly, it is time we start taking control of the words we speak.


This is a topic that is often discussed at my church and when we do a popular movie quote seems to always come up... There is a part in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie where Johnny Depp's character "Captain Jack Sparrow" says - "The words of your mouth love, the words of your mouth." And yes, I know this was a movie but what he said there has so much meaning for our everyday lives that I think it is worth mentioning.


Just as that fire in the Ada church started with just a small flame on a candle, what will happen to the words that you speak? How large will they grow? What negativity are you putting out there on yourself, your family and friends or even your job?


Now this is something that works both ways. Speaking positive and uplifting words can also spread and grow with time to where they are helping people and making a positive difference on someones life. Like it says in the book of James in the Bible, that a careless or wrongly placed word can set off a forest fire. But they can also spread the Good News if we are just continuously careful about what we say. 


Words are important... words can hurt no matter what the little saying says that we grew up hearing. You know the one...Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me. The sad truth is that words can hurt and sometimes worse than sticks or stones. All it takes is a choice by all of us to either spread good words or negative words around; to lift someone up by what we say or break them down by our taunting. The decision to do the right thing lies in each and every single one of us alone - and it is a personal decision we have to make.


What do you choose....??