The Little Boy and the Bird

Years ago, I heard a story about a wise man who came upon a little street urchin who had caught a bird.  The little boy quickly hid the bird behind his back.  So the man asked, “What do you have behind your back?”  The little boy said, “A bird.”  And then the little boy impishly said, “I’ll bet you can’t tell me if the bird is dead or alive.”  The wise man thought a moment.  If he said, “Dead,” the boy would produce the live bird.  He would be wrong.  If he said, “Alive,” the boy would squeeze the life out of the bird, and again the man would be wrong.  But the bird would be dead.  The wise man answered, “The answer is in your hands.”  Hey, do you realize that, like that little boy, you have great power over other people.  But your power is not in your hands; your power is in your words!  With the right words, you can build someone up, but with the wrong words, you can crush their spirit and tear them down.  With only words you can encourage, or you can discourage.  Solomon said in Proverbs 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”  If you use encouraging words, you will be a positive person; if you use discouraging words, you will be a negative person.  And just like that little boy, the power to build up or the power to tear down is in your hands.  It’s up to you.  Hey, today, use your words wisely, for what you say, you will become.