we just finished looking at the lives of jacob and joseph in the book of genesis in the bible. one of the areas we looked at was the area of blessing. now GOD still blesses today. HE doesn’t bless you just so you can feel good. HE blesses you so you can help others. HE wants to use your life.
now one of the areas that we can bless others is with our words. proverbs 11.11 (ncv) says this, good people bless and build up their city. but the wicked can destroy it with their words. you and i’ve got a choice. we can either build up or tear down. with our words we can develop or destroy. we can help and heal or we can hurt and harm.
GOD wants to use your mouth as an instrument to bless other people. but HE doesn’t force you. you get to choose. proverbs 18.21 (msg) says, words kill and words give life. they’re either poison or fruit. you choose.
do you want to guess how many words there are in the english language? eight hundred thousand. do you want to guess how many words the average person uses in a typical day? five thousand. any one want to guess how many men use? eight hundred – right. so let’s look at some ways you can bless people with your words.
one is pretty self-evident. it’s pretty simple to understand. you bless others when you show courtesy.
with all the rudeness in our society and people being rude at an all time high, just being polite to people blesses others. the bible says in titus 3.2 (Gw), believers shouldn’t curse anyone or be quarrelsome but they should be gentle and show courtesy to everyone.” just being nice to people blesses people.
the bible says in 1 peter 2.17 (ms), treat everyone you meet with dignity. who are you going to meet this week? you’re going to meet clerks, you’re going to meet waitresses, you’re going to meet bosses or employees, you’re going to meet people in your neighborhood. all kinds of different people are going to come across your pathway. it says treat everybody you meet with dignity. not just those you agree with, not just those you like. but everybody. the bible says in romans 12.10 (gw), excel in showing respect to people [each other].
think of somebody right now that you could show courtesy this week. try to write down a name. a neighbor, a clerk, a mail carrier, somebody you get gas from or somebody that comes in your pathway. somebody you think, “i could be a little bit nicer to that person.”
just a thought from the front porch…
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