Picture this...

Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing. (Proverbs 12:18)

Words - remember the old adage, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me"? That adage is not true at all, is it? Yes, a beating with sticks and stones could leave us physically maimed, but words/names can hurt even deeper than some of those more 'physical' attacks. Words can be spoken with good intent, yet they bring hurt into the spirit of a man. Why? We don't always 'filter' what we hear. We don't always hear the intent behind the words - we only hear the words themselves. We take all of them in and then we take all of them to heart. What we neglect to do is ask God's help to 'sort' or 'filter' that are helpful and discard the rest.

Maybe the problem begins with what we say because many of us are guilty of not really applying good 'filters' to what we say, beginning the pathway to words being said that could ultimately bring damage to a person's life. Words are not to be used as weapons, but if we are to be truthful here, they oftentimes can result in just as much, if not greater damage. Whenever the intent of our heart is wrong, the words may cut deeper than we intended. Selfishness is often revealed in what we say, just as much as it is in what we do not say. There are times words need to be said, but we withhold them, leaving someone to fail miserably and suffer great consequences.

If you are like me, a word picture tells a story that words alone don't always tell. I like the illustrations God gives and even those some have given down through the ages that help me to 'understand' what some words may mean. We all have the ability to see the 'picture', but how we see it may differ. If you didn't realize it, we form 'word pictures' with most of the words we hear. Someone says they are making us enchiladas for dinner, and we see steaming, gooey, cheesy goodness slathered in rich red sauce. If you get nothing more than an empty rolled-up tortilla with a little cheese melted on the top, the 'picture' did not meet the reality.

Stop long enough to consider how another may form that 'word picture' in their mind, from their perspective, based upon their experiences. Maybe if we did that, we might attempt to paint a slightly different picture with our words! Just sayin!