Let us oft speak kind words

The title for this post come from a hymn that my dad would sing when my brothers and I were using less than kind words with each other. I didn't really care for that hymn after a while. Anyway, yesterday in church we had a lesson about how we should be careful with the words we use. It was based on Elder Holland's talk from General Conference, Tongue of Angels. Good talk. In it, he quotes from James 3:5

Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

In the next verse it goes on to say "the tongue is a fire". I like the comparison between our words and fire. Just like a forest may take years to heal after a fire, our words can cause lasting damage. I remember my freshman year at BYU saying something thoughtless to a friend. Two days later I had girls I didn't even know not talking to me. It took a week for my friend to finally listen to my apology and even longer to regain a certain level of friendship with her again.

Now if all we focus on is the potential for our words to do harm, we miss the beauty of the fire analogy. Yes, fire and words can be destructive but they can also be positive influences as well. A fire can be used for protection, warmth, and light. Likewise, when used properly our words can uplift, assure, and inspire.

Isn't that cool imagery? Well that's my little insight for tonight. Maybe sometime I'll catch up on those 2 or 3 ideas that I mean to post about but decide that something else is more interesting. For now, my bed is sounding more interesting than blogging.