What do you say?

I've been spending a lot of time in the Book of Genesis lately. Genesis is a fascinating chapter in the Bible, so much so that it took me a long time just to get beyond the first chapter. One of the things that struck me is that God continually speaks.

He says things like, "Let there be light"; and there was light. He then called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. You can read the rest for yourself, but God then speaks the rest of creation into being, culminating in the creation of mankind, who he created in His own image. God then blesses mankind and endows them with dominion and rulership over the earth.

God then invited the man to exercise his delegated authority and do some speaking of his own. Thus Adam named all of the animals that God created and then named his mate. When Adam took up the challenge, he exercised gifts inherited from his Father: free will, creativity, and mastery over his environment. Although his words didn't "create" anything, they helped bring context and meaning to the world.

Our words still have that same power. In fact, "death and life are in the power of the tongue" according to the Proverbs. So I ask you today, what do you say? Like Adam, the choice is yours - you have a free will. You can speak words that bring light, life and love like God or you can speak words that bring the opposite.

Either way, you'll find that your words help to shape your environment. Why not make it a good word? A blessed word? An encouraging word? I challenge you for the next seven days, to filter every word that you speak through these questions: Do my words bring light? Do they breathe life into a situation? Are they said with love? And if not, then to immediately self-correct and turn it around. Do this, even if it's just self-talk (the words we say to ourselves).

Try it; it will have an amazing effect on your week.


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