Posts Tagged ‘example’

There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.      Proverbs 12:18 (ESV)

Some of our daughter’s first words made me blush and I wasn’t even a Christian. I did not worry about the words I used and certainly there was no concern for what God says about language or the tongue in our home at that point in our lives.

When I heard my foul language come out of her mouth, I knew I had to change my words.

Have you heard about Michelle Carter? She is a 22 year old woman now spending 15 months in jail for encouraging her boyfriend to commit suicide. She was convicted of “Involuntary Manslaughter.”

The evidence used against her was a series of texts between her boyfriend and her.  She was 17 and he was 18. He died of carbon monoxide poisoning in his own pick-up truck in 2014.

The article (https://todaysmama.com/parenting/michelle-carter-conviction-means-kids?fbclid=IwAR3tZIzTjLa7LXBHLBDt1gCKKzS7ivhLUzi_3BzkJv3v7LQN6sWDnakCLpI)  I read said this: “The ruling states that Carter’s ’virtual presence’ at the time of the suicide and the ‘constant pressure’ she had placed on Roy, who was in a delicate mental state, were enough proof for an involuntary manslaughter charge.”

The “constant pressure” had a lot to do with her words in those texts.

I did not hear the evidence and I am not saying the courts are wrong or right. The point to be made is about the words; what words are chosen, how they are used, and the means with which the youth of our culture are expressing themselves. The communication can be dangerous.

Christian kids are not immune from these trends in our culture. The scripture says that we parents are to be diligent in teaching the next generation what His commands are and how to live by them (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).

Those commands have a lot to say about how we use our words. The fact that the current trend is to type, not speak, those words makes them no less our own words.

God says that we will be judged for every careless word that comes out of our mouths. Do we think that doesn’t include the ones that flow from our fingers through our phones’ text messaging?

The words “intimate texts” lead us to believe that Miss Carter and her boyfriend were not trying to please God with their words. It appears that He was not considered in their relationship.

What about our own kids and grandkids? Are they considering their words as words that will please or displease God? Are we teaching them to build one another up (Ephesians 4:29)? Do they know the power of the tongue (James 3:5-10)?

What example are we setting (for them and others) with our own words? From the language we use to the encouraging or discouraging words we say to others? People are listening. Some of them are young and impressionable.

Every one of us has a sphere of influence that hears and mimics what we say.  Would we be proud of them for using our words or blush with conviction because of our own words?