I love quotes. They so succinctly capture what I can sometimes struggle to put into words. Like this one right here!
Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.
Powerful, right?!!?
The quote isn’t from some celebrity or person in history. It wasn’t written by some new author or any author in the past 100 years. No, this quote you can find from an ancient text that is readily available at many stores and online, written by someone much wiser than you or I.
Those are the words of Solomon.
Proverbs 18:21 Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose. MSG
Poison or fruit. That’s pretty strong. But it’s the truth.
And the truth is we all have tremendous power with the words we choose to use. They impact not only the recipient but ourselves as well. Jesus warns that what flows out of our mouths finds roots in our hearts (Luke 6:45).
If you want to see changes in your relationships, maybe start examining the words you’re using. They might just give you insight into what’s really going on within. It’s not something fun we want to do, but self-examination and having emotional intelligence are necessary. Taking inventory gives you direction.
And it never hurts to intentionally start using words like fruit, sweet, good for the body, and good for the soul. Solomon says the choice is yours. Not only that, but if there’s a connection between words that flow out and our heart, I wonder what would happen if we started using words more internally, like fruit.
Don’t you think that would change something in our hearts?
So this week, start observing your words. Pay closer attention before you speak. Pause just for a moment and ask, ‘Is this an opportunity to speak fruit?’ and then respond! Your choice is incredibly powerful!
Choose well!
You are loved!
