When I was about 10 years old, I asked my dad, “How do ministers know what to say? Where do they get their sermons?”
Dad simply responded with, “God tells them what to say.”
Wow, did that ever hit me! The seed was permanently planted: God speaks to people! What kid, what adult wouldn’t want to hear from God? I’ve never forgotten that!
Another example of the power of words took place about six years later, when I was in high school. I accidentally overheard a relative talking about me. For a lot of kids, being a teenager in high school is tough because at that age we’re super-sensitive to peer acceptance, how we’re perceived by others, etc. Well, I overheard this relative say, of me:
“Oh, he’s such a scatterbrain!”
That hurt — and I remember the comment, who said it, and where it was said to this day!
Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” To influence someone’s life, someone’s eternity, is very significant. Let us be mindful of the impact we may be having — or will have — on those God brings into our life!