365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 296

We watched the singing competition show called The Voice last evening. This competition starts with the blind auditions. The judges have their backs facing the stage and they hit their buttons to turn around based only on what they are hearing. The final singer of the night was a "gentle giant". He was an 18 year old big black guy who sang incredibly. They often tell the stories of the singers and his really struck a cord with me. He was told by an 8th grade teacher he would be a nobody, nothing and what he really wants from this singing competition is confidence. This kind of thing gets me incensed. My mother always told me if you can't say something nice don't say anything at all. She learned this from God's word. The lips and what comes out of them can be very detremental. Our words have the power for good and the power for bad so it is something we have to take responsiblity for and control. Now this teacher may have been having a very bad day, week, year, who knows but in the end we have to learn that it is not all just about us. What we say can hurt. God calls us to be building each other up, not tearing each other down. I am sure this "gentle giant" will find his confidence and my prayer is he will find forgiveness for this teacher and I pray the teacher will find his or her way to God's word and let the Lord heal his or her heart and guide him or her to using his or her words only for building up.

Ephesian 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.