Remember the saying you learned on the playground as a child, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”? I think someone was telling us to not get upset at the things the other kids will say about us. Don’t let one comment ruin your day. While that may be true, we must never forget the power of words to build up or tear down. Our words have the ability to either encourage someone to keep on going or discourage them to give up altogether. Unfortunately, we all have the tendency to criticize more than we should. We may think we feel better after we criticize someone but in reality do we? Are we better off when we tell someone else where they have dropped the ball or where they are failing? I write these words to challenge myself to stop criticizing and start encouraging people on a regular basis. Start pointing out the good things people are doing and focus on filling the cup rather than poking holes in it. Let’s start by doing random acts of kindness to friends or strangers, neighbors or family. Its about getting your eyes off yourself and focusing on others. It means seeing a small need someone may have and doing what you can to meet it. It means going over to a neighbor’s house just to say hi and see how they are doing? Your words have power, healing restoring power. Why not use our words to change the climate in our world from cold, fearful, and sad to warm, refreshing and joyful.

Dr Randy Berg is Pastor of Calvary Church in Hastings