Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker
Weigh Your Bananas
There’s a lot of things I used to do that I don’t do now. I can remember having scales available in the produce department so I could weigh the items that were sold by the pound. Somewhere along our culture of progress those handy scales disappeared. Now I just plop fruits and vegetables in my cart without thinking about the cost.
Believers need to weigh our words like bananas. We can lay our words on the scale of kindness to see if they come up wanting. Have you ever been hurt by the weight of an unkind word? Have you ever been given hope by the beauty of an encouraging word? There’s no doubt that the words we speak have positive or negative influence in the person who’s listening to us. We can use our words for good or bad, to encourage or discourage, to raise up or put down. Sometimes the words we speak without weighing their impact can cost a relationship.
King Solomon wrote about the power of our words. “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11 NKJV). We should think about the influence of our words and make sure they will inspire hope and encouragement. Here’s the same verse from The Passion Translation: “Winsome words spoken at just the right time are as appealing as apples gilded in gold and surrounded with silver.” The Septuagint reads, “A wise word is like a golden apple in a pendant of rubies.”
The right word at the right time is like a custom-made piece of jewelry (MSG). I distinctly remember sharing my concerns on a certain topic with a dear friend. Her comforting words were very simple. She said, “I feel your pain.” She didn’t solve the problem, make light of it, or tell me I was over-thinking the situation. Rather, she offered a fitly-spoken word of empathy and friendship.
We need to remember to engage our brain before we speak. The mind is incredibly fascinating. Scripture tells us that we’re fearfully and wonderfully made. For example, we can consider what we’re getting ready to say and nix it in the twinkling of an eye if it’s not a beneficial statement. My mom used to say, “You don’t have to tell everything you know.” And I might add, “I don’t have to say everything I think.” Some thoughts are better left unsaid. “Watch your words and hold your tongue; you’ll save yourself a lot of grief” (Proverbs 21:23 MSG). An unsolicited opinion is not usually very welcome.
Words kill and words give life. It’s our choice and we better choose wisely if we profess to be a Christ follower. Words can start fights and words can end fights. Words can bless and words can curse. “Any fool can start arguments; the honorable thing is to stay out of them” (Proverbs 20:3 GNT).
I guarantee that weighing bananas is not nearly as important as weighing our words. “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry” (James 1:19 NLT). We must train ourselves to wait for the whole story without interrupting. We must learn to be good listeners because this demonstrates that we care. I’ve heard that since we have two ears and one mouth we should listen twice as much as we talk. Only a fool would argue with that philosophy.
The Key: Let’s weigh our words on the invisible scale of our heart before we speak.