"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me," the old saying goes. But it's not really true, is it? We have all been on either end of hurtful words. Words can do more damage emotionally than being hit by a stick or stone. James said the tongue is an unruly evil and that to bridle the tongue is to accomplish a great thing (James 3:2, 8). If only we could surrender our tongue to glorify God! Words can also be used in a gentle manner to change even the hardest mind.

"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers" (Ephesians 4:29). Saying a good word is easy, but not speaking ill should be easier still. It requires only our silence, which costs us nothing.

What about when hurtful things are said about us or to us? As the Greek philosopher Epictetus advised, "If evil be said of thee, and if it be true, correct thyself; if it be a lie, laugh at it."