Flashback Friday: Just Words?

I originally wrote the following two years ago .  Today, I feel compelled obligated to share it once again.  What we say matters !  "It was just words" is neither an excuse nor an apology.  Words can hurt and leave deep scars.  Think first, then speak kindness!  

Are You Mean?

It seems to be an epidemic recently... a sort of social game to belittle, mock, make fun of, and say hurtful things about people - both those in the public eye and not.

We stand in line at the grocery store next to the magazine pointing out which celebrities have cellulite or the "worst beach bodies" and the like.  Mocking pregnant women for how much weight they gain, or obsess over how quickly they lose the "baby weight".  We read online gossip about who is cheating on who and which marriage is on the rocks.  We watch television shows discussing who wore which outfit better, or who looked fabulous (or not) on the red carpet to some awards show.

We post cruel comments on social media and under blogs. Hiding behind a keyboard to be our most hateful, judgmental selves.

Women gather and complain about their husbands. To talk about each other. Whisper across grocery carts, in school pick up lanes, and around corners in church corridors about what this one or that one wore/did/said.

We give others less than flattering labels. We focus on their short comings.  Point our their flaws.We build ourselves up, try to cover our insecurities - by tearing down others.

And then we wonder why our children bully. We can't tell them to "be nice" and then act the way we do.  Children learn by example.

It's time to break the pattern!  I challenge you today to only be kind and encouraging.  Build someone up by complimenting them.  Sit on your hands or bite your tongue when you feel hurtful, negative, judgmental words rising up in you.  Refuse to take part in gossip about others.  Speak love.