Our Words Affect Our Joy

Just as a positive mental attitude helps us enjoy our lives, the words we speak also affect the levels of joy we experience.

"Out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks."  Matthew 12:34

If we listen to what we say, we will be able to stay in touch with what is going on in our hearts.  Our words are powerful.  They not only reveal the conditions of our hearts, they also influence our ability to enjoy life.

"A man's (moral) self shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth, and with the consequence of his words he must be satisfied.  Death and life are in the power of the tongue and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it."
  Proverbs 18: 20-21

If we speak negatively we will have negative experiences.  On the other hand, if we speak positively, we will see good, positive things happen in our lives.  If we talk about our problems-they seem to grow and we will be depressed and discouraged.  But if we talk about our ability to endure and overcome our problems--we will find ourselves discovering solutions, feeling strong, and confident, able to work through those problems.  Why are these principles true?  Because we eat the fruit of our words.  We can poison our own joy by the thoughts we think and the words we speak.  If we want to enjoy our lives, we have to watch what we say and choose our words carefully.

"For let him who wants to enjoy life and see good days keep his tongue free from evil and his lips from guile."  1 Peter 3:10

The connection between enjoying our everyday lives and the words we speak could not be clearer.  We need to speak positively, talk about things that make us happy, use our words to encourage others, and refuse to speak evil of people or negatively about circumstances.

"A man has joy in making an apt answer, and a word spoken at the right moment-how good it is."
Proverbs 15:23

Not only can we bring ourselves joy with the words we speak, we can use our words for positive purposes in other people's lives.  If you have ever had someone speak just the right words to you at just the right moment, you know that can change your perspective, encourage you to keep going, or even affect the course of your life.  Because we reap what we sow, the more joy we give to others through the words we speak, the more joy we experience personally.  (Joyce Meyers-Happiness)

Well the morning I wrote this in my journal I vaguely remember uttering the words "idiot & moron" to my fellow drivers on my way to work.  Then I immediately did a mental check to see if I had anything on the outside of my car that would identify me as a believer.  Did I mention this is a process?

When you start applying this to your own life; you develop an awareness of words--all words.  Then you start to notice the words of others.  It's fascinating and sad; not many happy thoughts going around lately.  I found that quoting scripture helps if I'm wanting to speak otherwise.  Or this really seems to work best for me: