The Power of the Right Word
"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver."
Proverbs 25:11
The writer of Proverbs is right. “The right word at the right time in the right tone to the right person is pure gold.” My guess is you can remember getting a word like that from somebody.
And that word you received was powerful. It not only warmed your heart. It boosted your spirit.
Now, to be sure, words can be cheap. So, the word you share not only has to be appropriate. It has to be honest. It has to be non-manipulative.
The right word at the right time in the right tone to the right person is pure gold.
A pastor named John Ortberg describes how the latter can come across so badly.
“I was at a restaurant with a friend a while ago, and I ordered a salad, and our server said when I ordered this salad, "Brilliant."
Then my friend ordered soup, and the server said, "Perfect."
When it was time to order a main course, I ordered something, and the server said, "Excellent choice."
My friend ordered something different. "Wonderful selection." It just kept going that way.
Beverage? "Fantastic."
Dessert? "You'll love it."
I finally asked this server because it was so over the top, "Do you ever tell someone, 'What a stupid thing to order. What kind of a moron are you?'"
“The server told me that in the kitchen, they had a list of nine affirmations, and they were required as a condition of their employment, every time anybody ordered anything, no matter what it was, to respond with one of those nine affirmation statements.”
Wow! Talk about words being cheap! That's not sincere affirmation or genuine appreciation at all! That's just inflating people's egos to get more money out of them.
But what if your words were different? What if they were truly from the heart? How much might they refresh and bless a person?
Mark Twain once wrote, “I can live for two months on a good compliment.”
The Power of Positivity
Indeed, it’s remarkable what positive words can do for the psyche. Watch a person’s face light up when you extend a compliment, no matter how superficial you might think it was.
So, here's an assignment. Think of key people in your life and ask, "What is a quality they exhibit or an action they have taken that you genuinely admire or appreciate?”
And then actually tell them what you saw. Then take it a next step: tell them how it marked you.
You can turn this assignment into a habit with a little bit of daily discipline.
Go beyond the key people in your life to those who you might just observe in passing: a waitress who goes the extra mile, a cashier who offers a tired smile, a neighbor who works hard to beautify now only his yard but the neighborhood.
The possibilities go on and on. Extend one or two compliments each day, just to start. Watch it snowball into something that eventually requires no discipline at all and may even become second nature.
Here’s the thing. Not only does this encourage others. You, in turn, become more positive.
When we take the time to notice people…their happiness, in turn, can fill us with happiness. What goes around, comes around. In the end, we become better and kinder people to be around.
When we take the time to notice people and pay homage to something about them, their happiness, in turn, can fill us with happiness. What goes around, comes around. In the end, we become better and kinder people to be around.
Kindness has a ripple effect. Your compliment will, in theory, inspire that recipient to freely give another a compliment; then that person will be inspired to do the same; and so on.
Kindness has a ripple effect.
It’s mind-blowing to think about the positivity that can flow from something as simple as freely saying a few kind words to somebody. A beautiful domino effect can result.
Prayer
Lord, I have to confess that all too often I underestimate the power in my words. To be sure, my negativity, criticism, and complaint find their way to my lips way more than they should. Yet, the flip side is no less true as affirmation, compliments, and encouragement fail to be given voiced to. Help me to keep both in mind and to articulate in ways that are pleasing to both God and man.
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