Lies – we hear them all the time yet so often we may not know they’re lies.
Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.
Now that’s a LIE. From the pit of hell. The Liar started this lie. The Father of Lies spread it so we would throw words around like baseballs. Not softballs. Hardballs. Aimed to H.I.T. and Hit Hard.
I heard this as a kid and said it a million times to myself over the years, yet words HURT. Forever. The scars are deep and the wounds are simply ragged.
Sam, Barbara, James, Linda, as the names of your friends are called when teams are picked. And you’re last. Least wanted. Unneeded on a sports team. Can you relate?
Smarty pants (just because I lapped up words from both the dictionary AND the encyclopedia like a 4 year old laps up ice cream from a cone). Word Nerd! Imagine, me writing and speaking. You too???!!!
Fatty, fatty, two by 4.
Can’t get through the kitchen door.
Granted, some of us were chunky or as one of my friends said – fluffy. Guys were husky. Girls were fat, even if it was just 5 extra pounds.
Bones. You’re just bones. What man is gonna want you without anything to you other than those skinny bones? What’s he going to hug? I heard someone say to one of my friends when we were in about 5th grade. She cried that night…and never has married.
You’re so smart, do it yourself – from my dad when I asked mom to help with spelling in 4th grade.
Dang, I STILL want to do things MYSELF. I feel like a 2 year old some days. “I do it,” I want to say. Let’s do it MY way OR we’re doing it my way. As if that’s the ONLY way. You got that control button pushed too? Still pushing it yourself?
Worthless. You’ll never amount to anything. Stupid. Idiot.
She’s having sex, did you know? Even when it’s not true, some guys bragged simply to make themselves look like conquerors or whatever…
I read these words in the Bible and memories flooded in of lies I’d heard and believed or heard from others as they shared the depths of their pain.
18 Telling lies about others
is as harmful as hitting them with an ax,
wounding them with a sword,
or shooting them with a sharp arrow.
Proverbs 25:18 (NLT)
Now, there’s truth. Yet does it automatically set us free from the words embedded in our souls? Or from the lies we told on others?
On my, God.
[Tweet “Forgive me Lord for the words I hurled in anger, defiance or hurt.”]They were unwarranted, unwanted and unwelcome. And many times untrue. Forgive me, Father.
I bought a chain saw the other day – yes, we are out in the country now and I need TOOLS, lots and lots of tools! Go ahead and laugh at me – I wanted one with a safety covering so I wouldn’t be cut accidentally. Like words cut. Forever painful.
Susan, I love this. So many times we let this “tiny” lies sneak into our souls and they begin to change so much about how we think of ourselves. Thank you for sharing and for linking up with #JesusandCoffee this week!
Susan,
The words often hurt worse than any physical wounds! Yes, we need to guard our mouths and guard our hearts diligently! Thanks so much for sharing this at #MomentsofHope!
Blessings and smiles,
Lori
Great post, Susan! Words can certainly kill, maime and injure. It’s good to routinely ponder our vocabulary and phrases and weed out the ugly words.
The lies have the hardest time with (because I believe them) are the lies in my head that come from the enemy. Of course, sometimes he uses other unwitting people to hurl them at me. But sometimes he just drops them right into my soul without the aid of a rude comment.
The truth will set us free! We must identify the lie, reject it, and replace it with God’s truth.
Susan, love the wisdom you shared today. Words have power, and we need to wield them with grace and love.
Your good-to-remember thought reminded me of this verse:
Psalms 141:3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
Thank you for sharing at the Glimpses link up this week!
Great post! I love the verse from Proverbs, it’s the complete opposite of the childhood saying you quoted!
I found you through a few link-ups and see you have a link-up too! I’ve added my post. Thanks for the opportunity!
God bless : )
Words certainly can be life giving or deadly! I want my words to give life!
Oh, how true your words are. They spoke to the broken places in me that are hurt and have hurt others. Thank you for sharing your heart and reminding us how we are all on both sides of this equation. Thank you even more for reminding me to bring both sides to the cross.
I love the metaphor of a chainsaw with a safety cover. Yes, Lord please put a safety covering around my mouth and my mind too. Susan thank you for this reminder and encouragement to guard my words closely.
Susan, I love that translation of Proverbs! Yes, words hurt. Even when they are said in frustration instead of out of meanness. Lord Jesus, guard our lips!
Susan, when I was 14 an 18 year old boy was double dared to take me out – his friends told him “I was easy” – he immediately learned his friends were lying and that a false rumor had been started about me. That boy and I fell in love and had three beautiful children together – the marriage ended due to his unfaithfulness. I hate rumors. Oh Lord set a watch upon my mouth. Thanks for the Friday linkup! And, your lake house is really coming along!!!
Amen! Lord, put a safeguard over my mouth. Let me never utter untruths or words that wound! But, Susan, you know I love WORDNerds! XO
oh boy, there are so many more–and as adults,we don’t always realize what we’re saying! I’m with you, Susan—put a guard over my mouth! OY!
Wow – the Proverbs tell it straight, don’t they! Thanks for this reminder about the weight and impact of words. Thanks be to God that by His Spirit we can speak truth into the lives of those we love.
Susan- yes those lies hurt. The ones I heard from loved ones seem to be the ones that stick the most to me.
What a good reminder to keep our mouth shut! Unpleasant, hurtful words stick for a long time.
Today I’m going to be intentional about yielding my mouth more.
Great post!
Julie