Poison or Fruit?
- Cathrine Schmelzer
- Feb 20, 2024
- 2 min read
“I want all of my words to be fruit, breathing life, speaking truth, and inviting Jesus into my children.”
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. Proverbs 18:21 (ESV)
To really understand this verse, let’s look at The Message version. It says “Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit- you choose.”
Have you ever laid awake in the middle of the night, thinking about something that was said to you, wondering what they meant by it? Or remembered something hurtful that was said to you years ago, but you just can’t get it out of your head? On the other hand, have you ever had kind words change your whole day, give you confidence or breathe life into you? Our children experience the same thing. The words that are said to our children can be poison or fruit to them.
Poison, like the enemy, can steal, destroy and kill. Fruit can bring love, joy, peace, goodness and so much more into lives. When my words become poison my children will feel like they aren’t enough, they’ll question whether or not they belong, or worse, they might even question my love for them. My words should build my children up, give them confidence, show them love, and bring peace.
I grew up not being careful with my words or my tone and I ended up hurting friends without meaning to. I don’t want my children to experience that same hurt I dealt to my friends, so I now know that I have to be careful of what I say and even how I say it. I also know that my children watch me, learn from me, and are being discipled by me. Do I want them to learn to speak poison? Do I want to give the enemy an invitation into their lives? NO! I want all of my words to be fruit, breathing life, speaking truth, and inviting Jesus into my children.
Action Steps:
Take some time today to reflect on how you speak to others in your life, especially your children. Is your tone loving? Are you saying things that could be hurtful? Consider whether or not you need to apologize for the way you’ve been speaking, and then repent! Ask Jesus to help change your heart so that your mouth speaks fruit!
Prayer: Jesus, I come to You today needing You to bring love and goodness into my heart. I want my children to be built up by my words and I want You to use my words to speak to my children. Let my words be fruit, filled with peace and joy and kindness. Help me to recognize where I’ve spoken poison into others lives. Help me to apologize and replace that poison with fruit. I love You so much and I want Your love to pour out of me through my words. Amen.
Written by Cathrine, mom of 4
