Friday, October 24, 2014

DEVOTION: Daily Word Limit ~ by Shirley Corder

The other day I was reading a book when I learned that on average each of us speak 25,000 words a day.

Proverbs 18:21 tells us that our words matter. "Death and life are in the power of the tongue."
How true. Some time ago, I went through a time of real trial and hardship with a dear young friend whom I had known since she was a new baby. We worked together, laughed together, shed tears together, and got through a load of work. We were there for one another, and encouraged each other as day by day we made our way through all we had to get through. We only had limited time before she would leave the country and fly off to her home thousands of miles away. The days seemed to fly by, and we both became pressured as we raced to finish the task.

As time grew short, so did our patience. Although we both attempted to stay loving and understanding, eventually the inevitable happened. A thoughtless comment. An insensitive response. An angry retort, a hurtful email, a defensive phone call --and a relationship lay In ruins. Time ran out. There was no time to apologize. No time to heal wounds. No time to explain misunderstandings. Only two hurting people with no clue how to repair the damage - and an ocean between. 

Ephesians 4:29 says "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."
Let NO corrupting talk. The word used for "corrupting" literally means "rotten," as in decaying food. In this passage we are told not to ever use words that will break down or harm a relationship. Words that will cause decay . We are not to use them under any situation. Not in hurt. Not in self-defence. And certainly not in anger.

As you look back over the past 24 hours, how many of your 25,000 words would fall into the category of corrupting talk? How many of them have edified another? How many words have you written today with the object of encouraging another person, perhaps one whom you'll never meet?

For those of us who are writers, do the words we write build up? Do they give grace to those who hear? Do we use our word limit wisely?

Let's Pray Together: Father, forgive us for the time we misuse the words we have at our disposal, to bring hurt and decay to those whom we love--and those whom you love. Please show us how to use our words wisely, and how to bring healing where damage has been done. Amen. 

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SHIRLEY CORDER lives on the coast in South Africa with her husband, Rob. Her book, Strength Renewed: Meditations for your Journey through Breast Cancer contains 90 meditations based on her time in the cancer valley.

Please visit Shirley at ShirleyCorder.com, where she encourages writers, or at  RiseAndSoar.com, where she encourages those in the cancer valley. You can also meet with her on Twitter or FaceBook 

10 comments:

  1. Such an important reminder, Shirl! Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Thanks for commenting Lisa. For those of us to like chatting, it is a good reminder!

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  2. You can't take wrong words back, so be careful what you say at all times!

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  3. Great post, Shirl! Thanks for challenging us to think about the words we speak.

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    1. Thank you Narelle. It's one of those posts where I'm speaking to myself as well!

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  4. Shirley, very interesting post. And, great reminder to watch how we use our powerful words.

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    1. Thanks Karen. Yes, as writers we critique every word we say, but we can't do that when we talk can we?

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