Positive remarks lead us in the right direction
"Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the mind and healing to the body."
- Proverbs 16:24 (NIV)
There's nothing like a good compliment to lift your spirit. Whether read from a note or spoken, a word of praise causes your confidence to rise up and encourages you to keep going in the right direction.
A T.V. documentary showed how positive vibrations affected the molecular construction in water. They viewed water under a microscope while someone spoke positive words into the water. The molecules responded by conforming to beautiful structures that resembled snowflakes.
When negative words were spoken into the water the structures formed rather jagged and distorted looking configurations.
As we apply this to human behavior, we know that when we hear negative words spoken to us, they begin to make us feel depressed and discouraged. Even when we speak them to ourselves, we start feeling miserable and defeated. But a pleasant word makes us feel more confident.
In biblical days, it was customary for the father to speak a blessing - or compliment - over the firstborn son's life. The elderly parent would lay his hands on the eldest son's head and speak words that declare prosperity, health, and success.
This spiritual tradition is so important that, in the story of Jacob and Esau, Jacob deceived his father into thinking he was his older brother so he could receive the blessing from his father's positive words. (Genesis chapter 27).
Today, this principle of positive words expands to more than just a firstborn.
Right words can bring healing into our lives and help us go in the right direction. Building people up with our words is one way of showing we care. Even a reprimand can be given with a positive affirmation.
We can see the effects words can have on our spirits and, spoken over time, they can make a difference in our self-worth and value in a positive or negative way. Spouses, children, employers, employees, friends and others all need to learn to show care and concern to one another through positive words.
We need to remember to choose our words carefully, and speak a compliment into someone's life each day.
• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach and nurse. She will be speaking at Panera Bread in Round Lake Beach Friday, June 17, at 6 p.m. She can be contacted at Annetteebudzban@aol.com or (847) 543-8413.