I remember a debate I had while in Bible college. I was sitting in the Christian Thought and our professor asked us this question: “as a leader in your church, would you allow a gay man to sing on stage in your choir?” This brought up a lively debate in which folks went round and round about what line they cross when it comes to allowing someone to serve in the church. The denomination of the school had an open stance that was not gay affirming, so no one dared to open up that can of worms but you could cut the tension in the room with a knife. I sat back and listened for a while and then decided I had some follow up questions of my own.
“Excuse me, do we allow gossips in the choir?”
My professor looked at me, a twinkle in his eye. I think he loved the conflict. He shrugged at me as if to say, “I don’t know, do we?”
“Because if we allow Suzy Gossip in the choir, we need to allow the gay man. And in my opinion Suzy is going to do a lot more damage to the church than he ever will.”
Enter the stares. Now as much as you would LOVE for this to be a post on homosexuality and the church, I am going to move on from there. I could preach on that one, and most folks close to me know exactly where I stand. What I DO want to talk about is importance of our words.
I am currently helping organize a women’s event called “Speak Life.” Every time I see the logo or work on any part of the event, my mind starts flooding with the importance of our words. I have always thought about the topic of “speaking life” (found in Proverbs 18:21) as a command to not gossip. That was an easy pill to swallow. Nobody likes Suzy Gossip! She sucks!
Today as I was praying, I started realizing that I am great at speaking life over others. I try my best to encourage my husband, family, and friends. I speak life over those around me, but when it comes to speaking over myself; I am silent. Even more, I have been speaking death into certain areas of my life.
One of the most noticeable places I see this is in my health. I am constantly praying to be healed (of a non-life-threatening condition) while looking up treatment options and doctors who specialize in the area I struggle in. What I am telling myself every time I google another doctor or how much a procedure costs is that I do not believe God is going to heal me. If I really believe that God is going to heal me, I need to invest the energy I spend in trying to figure out what’s going on into praise! I need to speak life to myself about my healing.
“The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.” Proverbs 18:21
So today I choose to SPEAK LIFE to myself. I choose to have faith in my healing. I choose to believe that He is able and that He will.
Beauty From Ashes 