Last Sunday we heard a very inspirational sermon at church discussing the power of our words. We can literally affect someone else’s future by what we say. We open our mouths 700 times per day and speak up to 18,000 words per day! Now that is a lot of verbiage! Of course, most people think that women speak more than men, but in the case of the doctor and the dietitian, those roles are most definitely reversed!
The book of Proverbs in the Bible mentions the power of the tongue over 150 times alone! Proverbs 20 (NIV): “The unfriendly person pursues selfish ends and against all sound judgment starts quarrels. Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions…the words of the mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream…the lips of fools bring them strife, and their mouths invite a beating…the human spirit can endure in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?”
We have all heard stories of students being “crushed” by a mean or tyrannical teacher – often affecting their entire lives! A story this pastor told goes like this: A little girl, very enthusiastic and outgoing, transferred to a new school because her family moved. Upon entering the classroom, the girl asked the teacher where she would like her to sit. The only available desk was one that the teacher had labeled with a large “S” – standing for “stupid” where she put students who made mistakes or were causing trouble. (We were shocked too!) Thus, this is where the little girl sat. By the end of that first day, the other children were calling her stupid, making fun of her, and being very mean to her. Her spirit was crushed. She went from an A/B student to a D/F student. She now hated school. She became only a shell of her former self. That girl was the pastor’s sister. True story. She has since realized that God loves her and she can also love herself, so she has worked her way back to normalcy and is now a missionary to help others less fortunate.
At our Caring Medical office, we find that patients surrounded by positivity and words of affirmation heal and recover faster. This has been proven scientifically as well. A person alone with his/her pain has a much harder time getting better. Being surrounded by negative people makes life harder. Pleasant words bring health to the body!
So, what about the eggs? When fertilized eggs are broken all the way through, the chick inside will die. Those eggs with fine little cracks have a protective layer so that the mother chicken can still sit on her egg without them breaking. However, if “pecked at” enough, the egg will eventually break, and the inside contents could end up draining out through the crack. When carrying an egg, we must give great care to the egg so that it does not crack or break. If we drop the egg, the egg will die.
So, the question is – “are we egg carriers” helping those who might be a little cracked? Or are we “egg droppers” destroying other people with our harsh words? In these crazy times, let’s make sure that we are speaking life to those around us. We all need strength and encouragement, health and healing, peace and love. It is our choice to give life or give death with the words we speak. Let’s be egg carriers!