☕ Food for Thought: Your Words Leave a Mark

Sep 1

3 min read

☕ Food for Thought: Your Words Leave a Mark

Good morning, family and friends. ❤️

As I sat here this morning with my coffee and Bible study, my heart was troubled by some things I had heard. I felt led to share something very personal today.

I'm just a simple country girl from Ohio, but there is a part of my childhood that took me many years to overcome.

I was terribly bullied.

And I want to say something that I believe we desperately need to hear:

BULLYING IS WRONG.

Please stop dismissing it by saying, "Kids will be kids."

Bullying is not simply children being children.

When someone repeatedly humiliates, threatens, mocks, intimidates, pressures, excludes, or tries to force another person to do something against their will, that isn't harmless fun.

Words and actions have consequences.

I know because I lived it.

I was relentlessly bullied by a boy when I was growing up. Sadly, I also experienced hurtful treatment from a teacher—someone who should have been a safe adult in my life.

Those experiences affected me for a long time.

Eventually, with God's help, I learned that the cruel things people said about me did not determine who I was.

God did.

But healing took time.

That's why my heart hurts when I hear bullying dismissed as a joke.

If the person you're laughing at isn't laughing, maybe it isn't funny.

And bullying doesn't magically disappear when people become adults.

Adults can bully too.

It can happen in families, workplaces, churches, organizations, friendships, and even on social media.

Sometimes adult bullying looks like intimidation.

Sometimes it's humiliation disguised as a joke.

Sometimes it's repeatedly belittling someone.

Sometimes it's using a position of authority to make another person feel small.

Sometimes it's trying to pressure or control someone.

And sometimes people say, "I was only kidding."

But we need to ask ourselves:

Was it funny to the person receiving it?

The Bible has a lot to say about our words.

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue..." — Proverbs 18:21 KJV

Think about that.

LIFE and DEATH.

Our words can encourage someone who is ready to give up.

Our words can make a child believe they are capable.

Our words can comfort someone who is hurting.

But words can also leave wounds that someone carries for decades.

The Bible also says:

"There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health." — Proverbs 12:18 KJV

Words can pierce like a sword, or they can bring healing.

We get to choose.

And I especially want to say something to parents, teachers, leaders, pastors, supervisors, and anyone entrusted with influence over another person's life:

PLEASE BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR WORDS.

A child may remember something you say for the rest of their life.

An employee may already be fighting a battle you know nothing about.

That person you embarrassed in front of everyone may go home and replay your words over and over.

You may forget what you said five minutes later.

They may remember it for fifty years.

Once words leave our mouths, we cannot reach out and pull them back.

We can apologize—and we absolutely should when we've hurt someone—but we cannot erase the moment.

That's why Scripture tells us:

"Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:" — James 1:19 KJV

Before we speak, post, text, joke, criticize, or correct someone, maybe we should ask:

Is it true?Is it necessary?Is it loving?Would I want someone speaking this way to my child or grandchild?Does this reflect Jesus?

And if you are the one being bullied today, please hear this:

Someone else's cruelty does not determine your worth.

You are not the names they called you.

You are not the joke they made about you.

You are not the opinion of the person who tried to tear you down.

You are someone God created, knows, and loves.

And if you're the person who realizes today that your words or actions have hurt somebody, don't make excuses.

Ask God for wisdom.

Apologize.

Make it right where you can.

And choose differently going forward.

My prayer today is:

Lord, put a guard over our mouths and wisdom in our hearts. Help us recognize when our words or actions are hurting someone. Teach our children kindness, but let us adults model it first. Help those carrying wounds from bullying to find healing and remember that their worth is found in You. May our words bring life, encouragement, truth, and love. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Today, let's remember: