A proverb that challenges me to be mindful of how I use my words is Proverbs 15:4: “The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.”
As a child who was picked on every day, (today we call that bullying) I learned very early about the power of words. Words can discourage or encourage us; they can tear us down or build us up. Hurtful words, especially in the developmental years of one’s life tends to define us….at least that’s what we think at the time. There is another way to live; we have the power to use words that are healing and bring life rather than destruction.
The writer of Proverbs 15:4 uses a Hebrew root word which can also mean ‘healing,’ ‘wholesome,’ or ‘soothing.’ He compares such a tongue to a tree of life. A properly nourished tree grows and provides shade and refreshment for all who seek its shelter.
I want to tell you about Jennifer Eyring. Most mornings before school, Jennifer would take Pepto-Bismol to calm her stomach and plead with her mother to let her stay home. “She used to sob to me in the morning that she did not want to go,” says her mother, Janet. “And this is going to bring tears to my eyes. Because I made her go to school.” Jennifer was an accomplished equestrian who had a learning disability. She was developmentally delayed and had a hearing problem, so she received tutoring during the school day. For that, her mother says, she was bullied constantly
By the end of her sophomore year in 2006, Jennifer’s mother had pulled her out of High School and enrolled her in an online school the following autumn. But one night that summer, Jennifer walked into her parents’ bedroom and told them she had taken some of her mother’s antidepressant pills to make herself feel better. Hours later, she died of an overdose. The Eyrings believe she would be alive today had she not been bullied. Her parents are speaking out in hopes of preventing more tragedies. “It’s too late for my daughter,” Janet Eyring says, “but it may not be too late for someone else.” OUR Words Matter, OUR Actions Matter!
I encourage us to use our words carefully; we never know the impact they will have on another’s life. May our words be soothing, healing, encouraging. After all, wisdom teaches us: “The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.”
-Rev. Linda Harker, Online Campus Pastor
