Ron Hutchcraft Ministries - The Power of a Parents Words - #8258

Monday, April 27, 2009

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Baseball season was always a special time for me and my boys. We bonded, actually, playing baseball together, and I remember when I was first teaching my oldest son how to hit a ball. It was just a plastic Wiffle bat and ball in our backyard. And I pitched gently, but he was just chopping at it and missing. He had two strikes. I went over to him, coached him a little, took a few steps back to throw the ball, and said, “Hey, I know you’re going to hit it this time, man!” He whacked that ball into the neighbor’s yard. Do you know, years later, in a college class where they asked students about important memories from their childhood, that’s the day he told them about.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft, and it took me a while to realize how true this is, but there is awesome power in a parent’s words. Sometimes those words can be the difference between our child striking out or hitting a long ball. The Bible says to dads: “Do not exasperate your children; instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4 ). Your words can bring them down or bring them up.

Here’s a verse every parent should probably have tattooed inside their eyelids: “The tongue has the power of life and death” (Proverbs 18:21 ). Your critical words, your negative words, your angry words, your putdown words; they’ll remember them long after you forget them; your words of praise, of encouragement, of believing in them can make all the difference in who they believe they are and what they believe they’re worth. Be careful with your words, they have the power of life and death.

There’s more practical help for you and how to make a difference in the lives of the people around you at our website, and I hope you’ll check it out. It’s ALifeThatMatters.org.

This radio program references: Ephesians 6:4 ; Proverbs 18:21