Loving through words

 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”Matthew 12:35-37

It is so easy to downplay the importance of the words we speak when it comes to loving people. Yes, love is an action word and it is important to show it through our actions. However, I also believe that is necessary to show it through the words we speak. Now, I don’t mean saying ‘I love you’ 5 million times in a day or telling random strangers ‘I love you’ on social media. I mean showing love in the way we speak to people. Are your words gentle? Are your words kind? (Proverbs 11:17).

Know for sure that God will judge everything that comes out of your mouth. It is therefore unwise to allow your emotions dictate how you speak to people. It is unwise to let pride dictate who you speak to with love and respect. Jesus, our role model never spoke an idle word and the Holy Spirit lives on earth with us to help us speak in love among His many other functions .

As you might already know, I am all about representing Jesus on the planet and one of the ways God expects us to do this is by speaking to people in love. Now, does this mean that you would shy away from saying the truth when you need to? Absolutely not! One of the best parts of living in the UK was learning to speak kindly to people. I was pleasantly surprised coming from a culture that is usually verbally abusive. People in the United Kingdom generally use the sandwich method to convey messages that are not easy to convey. For example, in a situation where you have  to correct, you can start by saying something nice, then say what you really intend to say and finish the discussion with another nice thing. This will leave the person motivated to do better even though s/he was scolded. At least it worked with me as opposed to when someone was just being mean in a bid to correct.

Basically, my point today is to encourage us find ways to love in words as well as in deed. Let our words show love just as our actions. Let people leave you feeling motivated as opposed to depressed and unmotivated.  Let your words reflect Jesus.

Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Colossians 4:6

You are loved.
Favour