Good Words

Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. Proverbs 12:25 (ESV)Most likely you have never done this, adding to somebody’s anxiety, weighing their heart down. You know, someone is telling you about an impending operation they will have to undergo and you tell them how your aunt Maggie had the same operation and had nothing but complications. In fact she nearly died twice, was in excruciating pain for weeks, and never really has been the same since. Yep, and your brother went to that same hospital for a simple procedure but got one of those hospital infections and he ended up in ICU for two weeks. He isn’t quite the same either. And of course there is your neighbor who was allergic to the anesthesia; you don’t even want to know how that one turned out.We are all capable of good words, words that sooth, calm down, are right for the moment, are helpful to the hearer. We are capable of speaking words of love, of encouragement, of wisdom, of meaningful truth, of proper perspective. We are capable of speaking words that do some, maybe even do tremendously much good. No, our capability of speaking good words is not the trouble, it’s that we also know how to speak words that cause anxiety, words that stoke worries, words that inflame, that contribute to something, just not good.According to James words can be like matches, “(The tongue like) a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire” James 3:5 (NLT). You yell, “Bat!” in a congregation of mosquitoes, “Shark!” on a crowded beach, “High Jack! On an airplane, “Gun control!” at an NRA convention, and watch what will happen to anxiety levels. It might be wise to consider how dry the ground is, how much tinder is in someone’s heart and mind before saying a word.Words can also be like ice cold glasses of water on a scorching day, they can help someone with their heavy load, they can lift someone’s spirit, they can calm someone’s soul. Who around you needs a good word today? Who needs a word that will lift something off, that will make glad? Will you be the one to deliver it, to speak it? (And for goodness sake leave those matches alone).To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans