Words

Ok, so am I the only parent in the world that is bothered by other parents who think it's ok to say things like "My child is such a little terror" or "Oh, my youngest is a spoiled brat" or "Susie is soooo bad". Don't these parent's realize how POWERFUL their words are? (Proverbs 12:18Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. ; James 3:8...the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.; Proverbs 18:21The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.) I'm assuming that if these people feel comfortable enough to say those things about their children to a complete stranger, they're more than willing to say them in front of their children or TO their children. Yes, I don't doubt their children give them trouble...but more often than not, it's not the children's fault. If the parents are so willing to "label" and settle with the fact that their children "are who they are" then I can assume, again, that they aren't doing the hard work of shaping and molding their children into the men and women of God that they are intended to be. We ALL are born with rebellion in our hearts...and it's up to our parents, teachers, mentors, Pastors and God to train it out of us. If only these parents would see the power of the tongue...and use it to benefit their children. To build them up and focus on their strengths IS much harder to do...but it is so necessary and vital to their development. I'm not saying to be naive or to not tell the truth...it's just that some things are better left unsaid....or at least better said a different way. Instead of saying how "picky" their child is, they could say that they are "selective or know what they like". Instead of telling the world about how "noisy" they are, they could boast about how "enthusiastic and full of life they are". They would do their children a great favor by saying how "dramatic, passionate and full of energy" they are, instead of complaining about their short-fuse or how exhausting they are. It's all in our frame of mind...and unless we all want to see grown-up "terrors", "spoiled-brats" who are "bad"...we need to all take a moment to choose our words, especially those spoken about our precious children, a little more wisely. (And yes, I'm speaking to myself too!)