“The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life…” –
Proverbs 10:11
If you knew me
before Jesus changed my life, you would have certainly heard a completely
different set of vocabulary. Let’s just say that it was limited to a few select
four-letter words. In addition to my fabulous lexicon I was a pretty selfish
person. Unfortunately, I’m still dealing with some of that residual to this
day. Thankfully Jesus is still redeeming many areas of my life.
Words can be
extremely hurtful, but they also have the ability to be tremendously powerful.
I have not only received hurtful words, but I have regrettably used my fair
share as well in almost every relationship. I think that’s very normal for must
human beings. We say the things that we should not say and refrain from
expressing the words we should; words that are powerful, inspirational,
uplifting and life-giving.
If you have read
any book on relationships (i.e. dating, martial, friendship), you have most
likely come across content that encourages the reader to speak more words of
affirmation. What are words of affirmation? Simply put they are words that
bring encouragement and inspiration that breathe life into a person’s soul. We
all need this, but what I find is that we rarely hear it. I have some friends
who are so good at breathing life into people. I wish I could hang out with
these people all day long. They are my favorite people to be around because
their words are powerful. I’m sure you know people like this. But my question
for you is this: Are you this person?
I spent last
weekend with some friends who I absolutely adore. They are the living example
of the people I have been describing. They encourage me, they inspire me, and
they breathe life back into me almost every time I am with them. This last
Saturday we celebrated one of their birthdays. Later that evening there was an
opportunity for everyone to share an experience we had with our friend. What
could have turned into a Comedy Central Roast, ended up being one of the most
amazing experiences. One after another each person shared a funny story they
had with our friend. Some were hilarious and some rather embarrassing. But the
common thread in all our stories was how our friend breathed life back into all
of us. I sat there listening to everyone share these amazing words and Proverbs
10:11 came to mind. He has been a righteous mouth and a fountain of life to so
many people. I was witnessing the fruit of my friend’s ministry to his
students, their parents, and close friends. He has poured words of affirmation
out to so many people that we were able to listen to the return of those
powerful words. It was not only a gift to him, but a blessing for all of us.
I left that
weekend wondering what if we were all like this? What if we all spoke words of
affirmation to those around us? What if we simply said powerful and inspiring
words to the people in our life every single day? What if instead of knowing
people that are like this…..what if we became those people? Will it be
difficult? I’m sure. Will it take practice? Everything worth doing takes
practice. I have no doubt the lives around us would be better for it, but truth
be told, I think our lives would be transformed by it. I know my life has
already because of some amazing people who choose to breathe life into me. My
hope is that I can do the same to those around me.
