Smiley Speech

(Pro 12:25 KJV)  Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.

Too many people who consider themselves Christians spend little or no time reading the “word” (1697).  I know that I have had long periods where I have gone stale.  God has been patient with me and walked me through it.  I am sure He was thinking about shaking His head over my lack of discipline but He also knew that if He shook His head the entire universe might have trembled.  As much as I would like to go off on the written word here, that is not the meaning.  This is the standard Hebrew for the spoken word.  It is extremely common, just as the words we use are common.

The point here is that we can lift up others by giving them a few “good” (2896a) words.  The idea is beautiful and positive.  This is not quoting scripture to them, although that may be appropriate.  This is the “nice job” or “you have really helped me” type of comment.

So?  You never know what a kind word can do to make someone’s day.  It would be good if we would look for opportunities to lift up the many people we rub elbows with that we don’t know well enough to do more than say something with a smile.