I don't always say the right thing.
I wish I did... but I don't.
You're getting ready for bed, the events of the day flow through your mind and those misspoken words jump out at you, gripping your heart into a panic. You shout at yourself, "Why did I say that?!" Frustration and anxiety creep in.
Sometimes we're just worried about how what we said was perceived by someone else, but other times we've sinned with gossip, slander or untruths, and confession needs to follow - I've been both.
In Say the Right Thing: How Your Words Can Glorify God and Encourage Others, we find a helpful resource to teach and instruct us in the use of our words.
Say the Right Thing by Carolyn Lacey | Book Review
Content
Content
Purpose of the Book
Carolyn explores a hopeful vision for our speech and an active plan to keep our tongue on the path to glorifying God and speaking for the good of others. We're led into a picture where the landscape reveals words spoken with wisdom, truth, beauty, kindness, comfort and hope.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1 How to Avoid That Sinking Feeling: Speaking Wisdom CHAPTER 2 Build the Body: Speaking Truth CHAPTER 3 A Cello in the Dark: Speaking Beauty CHAPTER 4 From the Father of Compassion: Speaking Comfort CHAPTER 5 Somebody’s Daughter: Speaking Kindness CHAPTER 6 A Place in the Kingdom: Speaking Hope CHAPTER 7 Echoes of Jesus: Speaking Praise
Summary
In these seven chapters, you’ll journey through what the Bible teaches us about how to speak. You’ll feel convicted. You’ll also be reminded of the hope we have in Christ, that we are being transformed. The reflection questions at the end of the chapter are helpful for journaling and discussion.
My Take
To have speech that honours God, doesn't it sound peaceful and life-giving?
Perhaps it even seems unattainable.
Yet, we can take heart, because the power to bring fruitfulness to our words comes from the Lord. He continues to renew us and transform us into His likeness every day as we abide in Him. Though perfection will come one glorious day, we take steps forward one at a time.
She writes, "training and taming the tongue is a way of training and taming the heart." I was reminded that wise speech begins first with being an eager listener. We can't listen and talk at the same time, so when we're tempted to say something, we can put our mouth on pause and instead pay attention with listening ears.
This requires patience, humility and self-control.
Looking back, it's easy to see how my poorly chosen words were let loose in moments of carelessness or self-importance. Looking ahead, I'm invited to both see and hear others intentionally.
(My counselling training has, by God's grace, helped me a lot with this too)
My Recommendation
This is a very helpful resource if you're looking for a topical study on how what it means to speak as a Christian.
If it's something you're struggling with, or want to grow in, this is a great resource! The reflection questions at the end of each chapter, which make it good to use with small groups or for your own study.
I find it so interesting to hear from the authors, what they have to say about their topic and how their book came about. I hope you'll enjoy this!
Quick Stats
# of pages: 128
Level of Difficulty: Easy
My Rating: 5 stars
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Scriptures About Godly Speech
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. (Col 4:6)
Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! (Ps 141:3)
Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. (Prov 16:24)
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. (Prov 18:21)
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*A big thanks to the Good Book Company for the complimentary copy of this book and for the opportunity to post an honest review.
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