We should probably speak kindness and encouragement to each other on a more consistent basis.
Why?
Well, I think that this is essential because the words we speak can so often come true.
Are you constantly telling your children that they are “big and strong and brave and wise?”
Or are you always asking why they never try hard enough?
I mean, ask a child (ask anyone) why they are “so lazy” every day for a few years – and see how they start to view themselves…
We should probably speak kindness and encouragement to ourselves on a more regular basis too.
Understand: There is massive power in simple association.
What uplifting truth are you going to speak today?
We’ll become in our lives whoever the people we love the most say we are. God did this constantly in the Bible. He told Moses he was a leader and Moses became one. He told Noah he was a sailor and he became one. He told Sarah she was a mother and she became one. He told Peter he was a rock and he led the church. He told Jonah he’d be fish food and, well, he was. If we want to love people the way God loved people, let God’s Spirit do the talking when it comes to telling people what they want. All the directions we’re giving to each other aren’t getting people to the feet of Jesus. More often, the unintended result is they lead these people back to us. Here’s the problem: when we make ourselves the hall monitor of other people’s behavior, we risk having approval become more important than Jesus’ love.
-Bob Goff, Everybody Always (Amazon)