I just finished watching “A Thousand Words” with Eddie Murphy.

Tiny spoiler alert! (Sorry…)
It’s the story of a man whose verbose, obnoxious character causes him to be insensitive to those around him.  He spends much of his time talking…talking…and yes, talking.  For all of his talking, he rarely hears any of the needs of those he interacts with.  He encounters a mystical tree in a spiritual commune and, long story, short, when he speaks, leaves fall from the tree.  When all of the leaves on the tree are gone…he dies.
Now, I’m not talking about this movie because I’m a critic…though I do have pretty strong opinions about movies (but that’s for another post 🙂 )…
I point out the subject of this movie because it made me ponder the issue of how we use our words. 

In the movie, Murphy was accustomed to using his words for personal gain, criticism, judgement and deceit.  The tree, in the story, was the symbol used to hold him accountable for all of the wasteful, useless, harmful words he spoke.
When he realized he had to watch what he said, or lose leaves, he became intensely aware of what he said…until he stopped talking altogether.
So what does this movie analogy mean for me…us?

IT MATTERS WHAT WE SAY.  Did you get that?  It matters what we say to ourselves, to our loved ones, to strangers.
What would you do if every word you sent into the universe cost you a moment of your life?  Would you use your words to impress other people…would you use them to judge others or lie to them?  Would you use your words to speak harshly so that you could frighten or manipulate someone else?

Our words DO affect our lives.
Our words speak life or death to ourselves and others.
Proverbs 18:21 (Amplified Bible) says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life].”

Let’s be mindful that we are the sum total of all of our parts…including our voice; our thoughts…OUR WORDS.  Speak life to yourself today by affirming that you matter, you are precious in the sight of God and that your life has meaning.  Affirm others by speaking words of encouragement, support and love.  Practicing this speech everyday will change your life and the lives of those you influence.

Think about it:

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are endless.” – Mother Theresa