Words

I got a difficult email this morning for a person I commented about nearly 4 years ago on a different blog than this one. She had just read my words when she googled her name, and was more than a little upset with me.

When I read back through my comment, and the situation in question (I had forgotten all about it), I still feel as though my opinion was absolutely spot-on, but I didn't choose to state that opinion in as gracious a way as I wish I had. Looking back, I think I could have changed three words in my comment and softened my comments dramatically. It likely wouldn't have changed anything in this woman's mind, but it probably would have been a little more comfortable in the face of her rebuke.

Words are powerful (James 3:6), whether they're written or spoken. And those of us who are good with words (and have lots of opinions) need to be even more careful to be sure that we speak words that build people up, always (Ephesians 4:29).