When we were kids, we repeated a rhyme that said, “Sticks and stones will will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” All we need to do is ask Charlie Brown from the comic strip, Peanuts, if that is true. He was the object of every horrible thing that was ever said or done.
His friends Linus, Lucy, Peppermint Patty, Schroeder, Franklin, Sally, Pig-Pen, and of course, Snoopy and Woodstock, all had different reactions to his dilemma. Just like them, we want to side with Charlie Brown at times and at other times, we kind of think he might have deserved the joking.
It’s a painful experience to suffer ridicule in our lives. And there are many ways people exhibit their brand of hurting others. We’ve all had to endure this abuse in our lives when we were in a relationship. We struggled and are now relieved to find ourselves in a better place.
What We Are Learning
In many cases, words--verbal abuse--are what we had to endure day after day. We of all people understand the power of words. We now have a decision to make. Are we going to continue this pattern or beat it? No one willingly wants to be responsible for repeating that horror. Only if we have an open mind and heart will we learn from our past. Changing emotional abuse and becoming an example is a good goal for us now.
Unfortunately in today's world, we automatically go to the most depressing meaning about certain words. In fact, there are some who take pleasure in using these hurtful, “morphed” words against others as an intimidation tactic. Words seem to be much more emotional than ever before with all the social media communication we have available. Consider how these words have evolved. . .
- Bully used to mean sweetheart. Wow! Imagine saying, “Have a nice day, Bully.” Let your teen or FaceBook friends know that one right away.
- Spinster was an unmarried woman from a gentle family. Not really so bad.
- Awful meant something inspiring "awe" or wonder, which is where the expression "the awful majesty of God" came from.
- Brave used to mean showy or gaudy. It might take some courage, matter of fact, to wear something gaudy or outlandish, who knows?
- Evil used to mean uppity. We probably know some people who fit this description and refer to them as stuck-up or big-headed.
Gossiping and quarreling are some more ways we destructively use speech and language. These are two of the most difficult behaviors to break. Neither do any good at all as they just keep the hurt going round and round. It’s really exhausting! And in the end, we hurt ourselves more than the other person.
No Quick Easy Answers
Humans have never really conquered the temptations of keeping our mouths quiet for long. We are fascinated with talking! We envision ourselves as charming and one whom others hang on their every word. We might just have these gifts, but still wrestle with finding the proper way to use them.
The best advice we can find would be in the Bible, as it is the voice of God Himself. If you are serious about changing past patterns, grab your Bible now and check these five out:
--Proverbs 20:19
--2 Corinthians 12:20
--Leviticus 19:16
--1 Timothy 5:13
--Proverbs 16:28
In the Peanuts comic strip, Lucy was the most “mouthy” one. Maybe we should all just claim Snoopy and Woodstock as our BFFs, as they had no “language” to utter!
Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken at the right time. Proverbs 25:11 (AMP)
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