How good is a timely word.
—Proverbs 15:23
Kind words heal.
Harsh words hurt. “Their words bite deep like the poisonous fangs of a snake” (Ps 140:3 CEV).
Have you ever been on the receiving end of stinging words? Sure you have.
Let it go. Repeatedly replaying spiteful, hurtful words puts the offender in control of your thoughts. That’s not the person you want polluting your mind and messing up your life.
And be sure that you’re not on the giving end of cutting words.
“I’m just plainspoken,” you say. Let that go too. It’s not something to be proud of.
Weigh your words before you speak; it’s too late after you speak.
Calvin Coolidge said, “I have never been hurt by something I didn’t say.”
We have the right to remain silent—
a right that we should exercise more often.