Words

"How sweet are your words to my taste..." (Ps.119:103).

I posed an interesting question to my students this morning to get them fired up for the day: Would you rather be married to someone who could not see or someone who could not speak? The consensus among them was that they would rather be married to someone who could not speak. The vote was unanimous, I might add, among the boys in class!

I asked the question to get them thinking about words and how we choose to use them. In our discussions, I realized that they associate words with negative feelings, and I have no doubt that many of them have experienced very little positive communication and may well be able to count on one hand the number of compliments they have received from their peers or parents in the last month or so! As you can imagine, very few of my students trust words because they recognize how shallow, manipulative, or hurtful they can be.

About half way through my curriculum each term, I usually lay the lesson plans aside for a few hours and facilitate a round of positive bombardment (an activity in which each student becomes the focus of a round of compliments and appreciation). I've been doing this for years, and every time I am impressed by depth and quality of offerings that my young people have to offer one another. What makes this experience particularly interesting in my current job is that I am now doing this in a public school with a population of students who carry with them a bit of a reputation.

I have never seen better results.

At first, students are uncomfortable with receiving the good words from their peers, but it doesn't take long before their craving for affirmation becomes apparent, even among the most diehard. Gradually, the students began confessing their assumptions and judgments about each other and recognized that they had been wrong to jump to such conclusions. By the end of the experience, trust had been established, old differences had been set aside, and new friendships had been born.

All because of words.

Scripture warns us of the dangers of the tongue. We all have plenty of our own stories to share about words that cut us to the core. If the tongue has the power to unleash devastation, then it also contains the power to restore, heal, and bring life. Imagine a world in which the people of God took every opportunity to ensure that the words coming from their mouth brought restoration, healing, and life... What a contrast that would be to the voices of destruction that so many must listen to!

I saw the difference it made in the lives of a few kids today.

They felt the difference as they left my classroom walking on air.