Watch Over Your Words

“Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Matthew 5:37

People have a tendency to exaggerate.  You hear it when people want to emphasis something they habitually “over speak” such as, “I am sick and tired!” or “That’s driving me crazy!”

When describing something they look for the most current overused cliché.  The vacuous person will often use expletive speech simply because they don’t have the vocabulary to properly communicate, which reveals ignorance.  Overspeak causes people to express extremes – their highs are really high – their lows are really low.

The Nemesis of man works in the gaps. He looks for ways to get into your life.  The only way for him to do so is when we expose a gap.  Between “Yes” and “No” is a gap.  It’s a gray area that allows Nemesis to work. Examine the attacks against your life. More than likely they are a result of a gap, a gray area, an exposed opening that was not defined by a simple “yes” or “no”.  Instead of exposing a gap we should mend the hedges, not leaving any room for doubt.

THINGS NOT TO SAY

• “I’m broke.”
• “I’ll never be able to afford it.”
• “That’s driving me crazy.”
• “I am sick and tired.”
• “You’re killing me.”
• “That breaks my heart.”
• “I can’t.”

The key is to replace overspeak by minimizing the statement in a positive way.  Doing so actually causes people to take notice even more of what you are saying.  Not to mention the humor relief.  The point is to watch over your words and say what you mean and mean what you say.

TODAY’S CHALLENGE

Offer family and friends $5 dollars for every time that you use overspeak or words that are pronouncements of sickness, financial lack, or even death over yourself.