Creating Joyful Places

You know the saying, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me”? It’s a lie. Bones that have been broken by sticks and stones will heal. But wounds that have been dealt by words may never heal. Our words can have an awesome power to do good, to impart grace and therefore to bring joy. In fact, our use of words can be a discipline of joy.

The power of human words is grounded in the power of God’s word. When he speaks, it is not just sounds and signs and symbols that are uttered, it’s deeds and acts. . . . Since we are made in God’s image, it should not surprise us that our words also have power. They are more than signs and symbols; they are deeds and actions. Something of us goes out when we speak and accomplishes the purpose we intended by the words we spoke.

God wants us to speak our words to others in the same gracious way he spoke his word to us in Jesus Christ. He wants our speech to be the incarnation in miniature, full of grace and truth. “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6). Salt is a preservative and flavor enhancer. Gentleness of speech, affirmation and kindness hold families and communities together. Much more, they make them joyous places to be in. In a culture of gracious speech, where the words we speak to each other are like the word God spoke to us in Christ, people flourish and grow and become themselves.

—Ben Patterson, quoted from He Has Made Me Glad: Enjoying God's Goodness with Reckless Abandon (IVP).