SJF - Daily Worship, Word and Spirit - Dec. 6, 2023

Words have the power to convince. When a person opens the heart and listens to and receives the words of another, words carry great power. But not just any words. Words spoken from the point of view of personal conviction carry weight. While they may not be able to convince the one whose heart is closed, they will still leave an impact. What you believe matters when you speak, unless you are a skilled liar. A skilled liar can speak in the moment with conviction and walk away and forget what they said. However, a person of conviction and faith will speak words of conviction and faith that impact the his own life first. When I speak what I believe enough to live by it, my words carry the most weight.

If the anger management class teacher cannot control his own temper, his words are just platitudes. A person can still receive and apply them and achieve freedom, but many will be unwilling to see past the teacher’s example. Hypocrites influence only hypocrites, which is to say that hypocrites influence no-one. Why should one influence others? Indeed. What is your motivation for influencing others? Will you use your words only to influence others? Or, will you use your words to influence yourself and your own future? If you do the latter, your example will influence many and it will leave a recognizable path for others to follow.