Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Words

Wordscan’t break bones,
But they can break hearts!

So declared the large billboard at the entrance of a school in Freeport, Bahamas.

It made me think of a rhyme we used to chant when we were children and someone called us an unkind name or said something mean. I think it went something like this:

“Sticks and stones may break my bones,
But names will never hurt me!”

However, this is not quite true. Words can, and do, break hearts. What is said can hurt — hurt deeply. Perhaps this is why David prayed these words: “Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3).

Here is how the Sunday school song we used to sing expressed it:

Oh, be careful, little tongue, what you say,
Oh, be careful, little tongue, what you say.
There’s a Father up above looking down in tender love,
Oh, be careful, little tongue, what you say.