WORDS!!!

It was always taught that words don't hurt.  The old phrase, "stick and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me," was often recited when we were young and someone said something mean. You just knew that phrase was the end all be all.  My have times changed.  We are living in a day and age where words damage people's lives in so many ways.  There is the example from 2012 where a school bus monitor in Greece, NY, a suburb of Rochester, NY was bullyied by the students on the school bus. Many people came to her aid, in the end raising over $800,000 allowing her to retire from her job.  Fast forward to 2013 and Paula Dean's use of certain words ended up costing her millions of dollars in endorsement deals and destroying a multimillion dollar brand.

The above examples deal with someone gaining money and someone losing money because of words.  Grant it, no one wants to lose money but it can always be made again.  In most cases the outcome isn't that simple.  What about those that are brutally beaten over the use of words?  What about those that commit suicide because they felt so low from someone else's use of words against them? What about those that are killed because someone didn't like the words that someone else spewed?  So, why are we using words to destroy us?  We all have been an aggressor of words at one point or another in our lives. No one is exempt.  However, one thing I do know is that I am willing to be transparent enough to know that I am willing to do my best at dropping those negative words and turning them into positive words.  Words like grow, challenge, strength, love, prosper, help, proud, winners, beautiful, greatness, joy, happiness, freedom, courage, fellowship, admiration, inspire, succeed, etc.  Words that will allow the next person, regardless of race, creed, religion, or culture to feel as important as God purposed all of us to to feel when he crafted us.  Words can end a situation badly or words can bridge differences together.  So choose your words wisely so that they can help lift us up instead of tearing each other down.