anger
There is power in our words. Have you ever heard the saying “the tongue is like a two-edged sword’? That saying couldn’t be truer. Our words can either help others or tear them down completely. Our words against ourselves and against other people can even kill. You surely have also heard the famous phrase of “sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” That is also another myth or even a lie, if you will. Words said out of anger or hate are sometimes the most painful things anyone has ever heard.
When someone comes across to you with their words being hateful, angry, belittling, degrading and just all around nasty and or threatening, you seriously can’t deny that any of those things really hurt you. They not only hurt your heart physically and cause other muscles in your body to hurt such as your head or your stomach, but it hurts emotionally and mentally after someone verbally attacks you as well. You may suffer from panic attacks after someone says mean things to you, or your self-esteem may drop. Any of those things aren’t good for your emotional and mental health at all.
If anyone hurts you with your words, it can even cause you to be angry at yourself or think that there could be something wrong with you. When someone is mean to you in any way, they may make you think differently about yourself than you had before or make you second guess everything you do. People can make you feel like you’re worthless. But, no matter what anyone says to you- never believe that lie. You are loved by God and you are never ever worthless to Him. You are His child and He loves you unconditionally.
We’ve all gone through pain with words. Some days, people’s words can hurt deeper and hit deeper than ever. Sometimes, horribly, people end their lives because of what someone has said to them. It is horrid that anyone would actually contemplate taking their own life because of what others have said to them. Remember that before you just go off verbally at someone next time. Remember that it could ultimately change someone’s life completely.  Don’t spout off angry words at someone and then realize you can’t take it back. There is nothing worse than realizing the hurt you caused someone and never being able to ask for their forgiveness after.
If someone has hurt you, please try talking to them in a calm way. If they don’t or can’t to talk to you right away, then pray about the right time to talk to them. Pray for Him to use the right words for you in front of that person. Don’t attack the other person the way they verbally came at you. It can be extremely hard not to come down on the other person when it’s really all you want to do, but ask God to help you have a calm demeanor and a calm heart during the conversation. It is always worth trying to talk through an argument instead of never talking to that person again. If they don’t want to listen to you, or think that you have an attitude, then you have every right to walk away. Remember, a calm answer sooths wrath, but a coarse answer stirs up more wrath.  Proverbs 15:1 “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
There is also the Bible verse of treat other the way you want to be treated, otherwise known as the golden rule. “Do to others as you would have them do to you,” Luke 6:31.  James 4: 1-2 gives all of us a stark, yet clear and much needed reminder about the reasons we may choose to let our anger spill out of our hearts, minds and our mouths:   1 “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.”
Proverbs 22:24 even warns us “24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered.” They can only lead us down the path of destruction and hateful words within ourselves if we hang around with the wrong people. If we are around people that are hot tempered a lot of the time, we will eventually become more like them, whether we mean to do that or not.
Proverbs 14: 29 says, “Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.”. We can learn a lot about where our anger and other people’s anger comes from by reading God’s word and heading His advice. Yes, we all sin and we all fall short of the mark, but it will always be a daily battle to watch what we say and watch how we react to the things that are said to us. Remember words can hurt and they can even cost someone their life.  Spread love, friendship and goodness with your words, not hate, lies or anger. Speak life into others through thinking about what to say, before you open your mouth. By speaking words of love to others, you could save someone’s life.
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