Check Your Baggage At The Door

The words we use often influence others. We can use our words to change someone’s mind. They can cause someone to think about something in a different way. Our words can be encouraging or they can be discouraging.
 
We can manipulate a situation to our own advantage by the “way” we use our words. Our words carry a lot of weight and yet we toss them around like a feathers.
 
How many times have our words crushed someone’s spirit just because we were having a bad day? Our choice of words either starts fires or puts them out. They can in fact start a war or defuse one.
 
In James chapter 3 it talks about taming the tongue. No man can do this. If there is a man that can do this, he is “a perfect man”. With our tongue we praise God but curse people who are made in His likeness.
 
Every one of us can think of the multitude of times we have used our words in a negative or hurtful way. I’m sure there are moments we all wish we could take back what we said. Once the word is spoken, it’s out there doing what it does best. For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Meaning, whatever is stored up in your heart, that’s what will come out.
 
How can we get a handle on this issue? James tells us in chapter 1 verse 19 “everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”
 
How do we do that? We can achieve that only by the power of God through reading His word, seeking His face and applying these things to our lives. We can’t accomplish any of this on our own. If we think we can, we are deceiving ourselves.
 
So, before we unleash the payload from our heart through our mouth, let’s remember to check the baggage that each word carries. If the words are heavy and damaging, maybe we ought to be a little slower to speak.
 
Ask God for the right words to say. You may just be surprised at what comes out of your mouth.  

Take a look at James 3:1-12. Reading it is one thing, applying it is a game changer.