Week 2 Day 6: Sticks, Stones and Words

"We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.” 2 Corinthians 10:4

Good soldiers need more than one weapon, so God has given us several to use in the battles that we face. Most of them are defensive, but the Word of God and prayer can be considered offensive weapons. These two weapons are the most maligned and attacked aspects of Christianity because they offend the flesh and the world. That’s because they are powerful weapons when we use them the way God intends for them to be used, under His guidance and authority.

We can’t just tell Satan to get out and we sure can’t reason or negotiate with him. We must realize that he knows what God’s Word says and he is a master at twisting its meaning to wreak havoc and cause destruction in our thought life. If he can get in our heads and control our thoughts, he wins. What we think and say to ourselves drives our words and our actions. If our thoughts are unhealthy it negatively affects our lives and the lives of everyone around us. A poorly used weapon often destroys targets that we don’t intend to damage. 

What we say to ourselves, what we say to others and who we listen to ultimately determines what we think, what we do and who we become. Our words are a weapon that must be carefully weighed. We wouldn’t just give a child a sword without teaching them how to handle it properly, they will cut themselves on the sharp edges. We wouldn’t let them carelessly swing the sword around the house or around others. The chances that they destroy, hurt or kill are too great. We risk the same kind of destruction with our careless words.

The old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” is a lie from the pit of hell. Words spoken over us as children and adults cause damage as much as sticks and stones. But because of the insidious nature of words, the damage is not seen with the human eyes. It is only felt with the human heart. If not addressed, that damage spreads like gangrene and destroys potential in us.

Satan is not an all-powerful being and he does not possess our God given ability to create. So, he did not create the saying about sticks and stones, but he did twist it. That is what deception is, a twisting of the truth. He took a truth of God and twisted it to make us believe words have no power over us. They do have power, tremendous power. When we can accept and agree with that truth, we can start on the path to the abundant life we were created for.

Max Lucado’s book, “You Are Special” beautifully illustrates how we can keep the words and actions of others (and ourselves) from sticking to us and defeating us. Read it for the child in your heart and read it to the children in your lives.

Do you agree that words are damaging? What steps can you take to stop words from having a negative effect on your thoughts, words you speak and actions?

Meditate on 2 Corinthians 10:4 today