Acceptable Words

Read: Psalm 19:12-14; Ephesians 4:29

Isabela peeked over her brother’s shoulder at the picture he was drawing. “Hey, that’s pretty good! But you need to color in that bit of sky you missed in the corner or turn it into a cloud.”

“You’re so bossy!” Matías shot back. “I don’t care what you think, so stop trying to tell me what to do!” Isabela’s eyes filled with tears, and she left the room.

That afternoon, Isabela played at a friend’s house while Matías and Mom went to a greenhouse. “Why don’t you look around while I find the stuff I’m looking for?” Mom said.

Matías wandered around, looking at various plants. “Come see our mimosas,” one of the workers said. He pointed to some spiky green plants, and Matías went over to see them. “Blow on one of those,” the man said.

Puzzled, Matías blew. He was surprised to see the plant’s leaves suddenly curl up. “Did I hurt it?” he asked in alarm.

“No, it will be fine,” the worker assured him. “These plants respond to possible injury by curling their leaves. That keeps them from being harmed by insects or rain. It doesn’t take much to cause them to curl up.”

Matías was fascinated by the plants, and he told Mom about them as they drove home.

“Those mimosa plants remind me of your sister,” Mom said.

“Isabela?” asked Matías. “How?”

“They’re very sensitive,” Mom replied. “When you blow on mimosa leaves, they curl up. And when you say harsh, unkind words to Isabela, she’s hurt deep inside and withdraws to avoid being hurt more. We’ve talked about this before, but I’ve noticed that you might have forgotten.”

“I’m sorry, Mom,” Matías said quietly. “I’ll tell Isabela I’m sorry too.”

“Good,” said Mom. “We may not always realize it, but our words have an effect on people. That’s why we need to depend on Jesus to help us make our words acceptable in His sight. Every word He says to us in the Bible communicates His love for us and what He did to save us so we can grow in our faith. Trust Him to help you speak to others in a way that encourages them and helps them grow too.”

–Karen S. Birt

How about you? What kind of words have you used today? Did the things you say encourage others and help them grow—or make them shrivel up? Even if you don’t mean to, it’s easy to say things that are hurtful, so pay close attention to your words and how they affect others. Trust Jesus to help you show His love through everything you say and speak words that are acceptable to Him.

Today's Key Verse: Let the words of my mouth…be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord. Psalm 19:14 (NKJV)

Today's Key Thought: Use words to help, not hurt