Yesterday, my dear friend posted this picture on Facebook after her two- and four-year-old children attempted to brush their teeth on their own. Now, to be perfectly honest, my kids are older and still do this! (sigh) My friend looked at the scene before her and saw a mess, but she also saw wasted toothpaste that could not be put back into the tube. It was out there. Too late.

The same is true of our words. We can’t take words back once they’re out there. We can’t carefully shove them back in our mouth any more than we can carefully put toothpaste back into the tube. This topic is very important to me, for words can make or break someone.

Recently I heard a woman criticizing her husband for something very silly. While he tried to be tough and act like it didn’t bother him, I saw his eyes. She was breaking his spirit. I’ve seen mothers yell and criticize their children and they think they’re only correcting them, but they’re doing it in a way that is breaking their spirit. Our words have impact.

Think back over yesterday. Were your words encouraging to those you communicated with? Did they lift up someone? Or did your words come out harsh and mean? Let’s honor God with our words. Let’s encourage others and show them the love of Christ. Today, watch your words.  —submitted by Jenifer Metzger, US