“You’re Terrible!”

The heartbreaking story said that the young boy used to enjoy soccer until his mother started watching his games and ridiculing him from the sideline. “She used to say, ‘Why are you playing this? There’s no point. You’re terrible,’ ” he recalled. He never forgot the ridicule and rejection he had endured, inflicted upon him by his own mother. The very person who should have been demonstrating support was, instead, cutting him down. Parents receive specific instruction from God when Paul says, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). Although Paul addresses this to “fathers,” it is clear this counsel applies equally to mothers—and certainly to mothers stalking the sideline of their children’s soccer games. Parents say a lot of words to their children, and while no parent is going to get it right every time, it’s essential to remember that words can either build up or tear down. And when dealing with the young and most vulnerable, it is crucial to realize there is power in words to do great good or great harm.

You don’t get a chance to do it over again when it comes to raising children. Words that have been spoken can never be unsaid.

Something uttered in anger might not have been intentionally malicious, something said in the heat of the moment might not have been deliberately cutting, but a word spoken cannot be taken back. Even apologies can’t always reverse the damage done by careless words. It has been said that you can’t unring a bell.

You certainly cannot unsay a word. Whether you are a parent or not, it is better to commit to speaking words God wants you to speak.

The Spirit of God is able to tame even the wildest tongue.

Pray today for the grace to speak kind words. When Jesus lives His life in you, His presence in your life will be noticed in your words.

The God who changes your heart changes your attitudes and your vocabulary.