Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. Proverbs 16:24

 Yesterday my wife and I were blessed to join my daughter and her family to my grandson’s fall festival at his school. While there, we met up with some of their friends and had wonderful conversations about life, and a recent vacation they enjoyed in Canada. As my wife and I returned to the car we commented on how nice it was to converse with them. It’s like we connected with them in every way and left a good feeling in our hearts.

 Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

 This old saying dates back to the mid-1800s. The truth is, words do hurt and can penetrate the heart, leaving scars that can last a lifetime. Many children would rather take a good whooping than to be chewed out by their parents. Words spoken oftentimes are associated with one’s opinion of that person. I know there are “negative people” who I’d rather avoid than to have a one-minute conversation. How are the words that come out of your mouth?

 I encourage you to let today’s verse in Proverbs 16:24 sink in. Do your words bring encouragement, kindness, and reflect God’s love towards others or do your words seem to have “teeth”, ripping and tearing others down, bringing insults and sometimes even seasoned with hatred? A good way to measure the quality of your words by observing if people are drawn to you or shy away.

 Words can oftentimes indicate the health of your heart. If it’s been hurt or angered, the words that proceed from your mouth can be ugly. A healthy and joyful heart will usually be seasoned with a sweet tone, just like a honeycomb. If you find your words not pleasant to others, ask God to help heal your heart and mend those broken relationships that have been harmed by hateful speech. God will restore you and mend relationships when your heart and words have been restored, sweetening the soul of yourself and others. God bless!