by Doy Moyer<\/p>\n
“There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing<\/em>” (Proverbs 12:18).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Here’s one thought about our need to be careful with our words. What we say publicly reflects upon our spouses and loved ones. If we are constantly complaining about how bad things are, for example, how might this make spouses feel, even if our intention is not to cast shadows on them? In our desire to be authentic and speak our minds, we need to remember that other people who care about us and love us feel the sting of what we say. If we are indicating that we are unhappy or that we feel unloved and unappreciated, for example, how will this impact the ones who love us the most and are trying to give us a sense of peace and safety? Will our words cause them to think they are failing?<\/p>\n
Words are powerful. They encourage and lift up, and they can cut down and dishearten. “But that’s not how I meant it.” Perhaps not. I hope not. But speaking out without stopping to consider carefully the impact of discouraging words is not healthy. If we aren’t sure about how our words may come across, then perhaps we shouldn’t say it. If we need to vent, there are options that might spare the hurt we can cause. But love requires us to think first of others, and there may be no more significant place to start than with those who are closest to us.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Doy Moyer “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (Proverbs 12:18). Here’s one thought about our need to be careful with our words. What we say publicly reflects upon our spouses and loved ones. If we are constantly complaining about how bad things…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[981,764],"class_list":["post-62183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-communication","tag-rashness"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":85620,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/words-hurt-words-heal\/","url_meta":{"origin":62183,"position":0},"title":"Words Hurt, Words Heal","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer \"There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing\" (Proverbs 12:18). Words can hurt. They can be like sword thrusts, cutting deeply and hurting people in ways we may not even consider. Because \"what comes out of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/hand-and-flower-300x200.avif","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":31538,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-my-sister-wait-for-her-boyfriend-to-convert\/","url_meta":{"origin":62183,"position":1},"title":"Should my sister wait for her boyfriend to convert?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a sister dating a non-Christian for over five years now. She has been teaching him, but he still hasn't yet made a decision to get closer to Christ. She is deciding that in the next few years if he does not change to not get marry entirely.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67679,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/accepting-gods-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":62183,"position":2},"title":"Accepting God’s Work","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer God doesn't need our defense (as though He needed anything (Acts 17:25)). When we accept God in total - that, for example, He is all-knowing, all-wise, all-understanding, all-powerful, all-loving, all-just, all-gracious, all-righteous, all-good, owner of life and death, etc. - then we won't feel like He owes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39596,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-choose-spouses-for-us-does-the-church-decide-who-we-marry\/","url_meta":{"origin":62183,"position":3},"title":"Does God choose spouses for us? Does the church decide who we marry?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I've been wondering, does God really choose spouses for us, or does He show us the person who will marry us? My church leaders are against my boyfriend marrying me because they say I'm not good enough for him. He is now confused and doesn't know whether or not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15688,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-god-require-the-israelites-to-leave-their-non-jewish-spouses\/","url_meta":{"origin":62183,"position":4},"title":"Why did God require the Israelites to leave their non-Jewish spouses?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 8, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Could you explain why Moses gave the certificate of divorce? What I mean to say is when was it that God's people were required to leave their non-Jewish spouses? What were the reasons for this? I am looking to use it for an example of commitment and covenants, such\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19880,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-spouses-who-knowingly-break-their-marriage-covenant-ever-realize-their-error\/","url_meta":{"origin":62183,"position":5},"title":"Do spouses who knowingly break their marriage covenant ever realize their error?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 13, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do spouses who break their marriage covenant knowingly (having true knowledge of what God says on the matter) ever come to a realization of their error? Do they actually regret what they did? I ask this because having read posts and articles on your web site about spouses (Christians)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62183\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}