Apples and Silver

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. 

Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear."

Proverbs 25:11-12

The average weight of an apple is 5 ounces.  The price of gold as of Friday, June 24, 2011, was $3000.84 per ounce for 24 carat gold.(http://www.goldperounce.net/ )  This verse says "apples," so we must assume that there are at least 2 apples discussed.  2 apples of pure gold would be worth over $6000, not including the price of labor and artistry in making them.

I don't think we really understand the value of the words we speak or the words that are spoken to us.  If only our hearts could grasp the importance of words.  "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never harm me" is a ridiculous little ditty that children are taught.  Words can destroy us--or become a valuable asset in the molding of our lives.

I want to encourage all of us to choose carefully the words we speak.  They may be worth more than we can ever imagine if they are words rightly spoken.  Speak words of kindness, of gratitude, of love, of encouragement.  Today just speaking those words may be worth more than $12,000 to someone!  They may be the thing that causes someone to be joyful and have a successful day.  

I remember once when I was very young, about 9 years old, that I was sitting in the living room with my grandmother.  She looked up at me and said, "You look like an old cow sitting in that chair."  I don't know what provoked it, and I must say that as she got older she became kinder, but that statement has lived with me for 56 years.  I don't even know what she meant by it, but it somehow affected me.  What we say to others can have an effect for the rest of their lives.  Those words were hurtful and harmful to me.

Speak "fit" words to others.  Sometimes a word of wise reproof is the best thing a person can hear.  It will be like giving that person a gold ring or a gold ornament--valuable!  But how we say it is so important.  Sometimes it isn't so much what we say, but the way that we say it that causes another to accept or reject it, to feel blessed or to feel cursed.

Mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, be careful how your words are spoken.  Speak them to fit the occasion.  Children, this is a very important lesson to learn early on in life.  What you say to your friends, to your parents and other adults will not only reveal who you are inside but will also have an impact on the one you are speaking to.  There is never a proper time for unkind words or harsh and unloving rebuke.  It could linger for a lifetime.

Praying for a mouth that speaks fitly,

Gloria