We say what we want,
      thinking it’s no big deal.
If we do wound others
      a “sorry” will heal.
But how sorry are we
      about what we said?
Or do we shift blame
      to how it’s taken instead?
If they would relax,
      lighten up, and just chill.
I gave it no thought,
      I never meant ill.

Perhaps that’s the problem
      that we fail to see.
We opened our mouth,
      never counting to three.
The three’s not important,
      it’s more about thought.
Do I think before speaking,
      as I know I ought.
When I stop to consider,
      what my words will do.
I need to quit looking
      at me and see you.

Words will stay with us,
      they’re hard to erase.
They get in our mind and
      they dig in some place.
And when least expected,
     They jump right on out.
They may make us happy,
      or may make us pout.
The words you are using,
      just what will they mean?
When months and years later,
      they’re still on the scene.

You may be thinking,
      I’ve got this all wrong.
Words don’t stay with me,
      at least not for long.
I can’t be certain,
     if that’s true for you.
But based on who I know,
     you’d be one of a few.
Even when I’ve thought
     words rolled off my back.
In the right setting,
     they’ve found their way back

There is a good side
      to a mind that will store.
I praise God with songs
      from when I was four.
The thing that’s important,
      is to guard what goes in.
So what comes out later,
      doesn’t cause us to sin.
When I seek Jesus
      to fill my whole heart.
The words that I should say
      have a great place to start.

For out of my mouth comes,
      a great overflow.
Of what Jesus put in me,
      and of just who I know.
The treasure inside me
      can’t be hidden for long.
For God’s love does fill me
      with a prayer and a song.
And since it’s His Spirit
      that I have in me.
My words should reflect that,
      so it’s Him people see.
©

 I was outside this afternoon enjoying the sunshine while getting some things done around the building and found myself singing some Sunday School songs from way back in my childhood.  As I considered the power words have had in my life, God gave me this poem to share.  I pray that it encourages you and I to be careful with our words.

In prayer,
Tom