| 1:12 min read |

Most of us have experienced that disappointing moment when we bite down on a food item expecting it to be soft and tender only to discover that it’s tough and gristly. The texture doesn’t match the appearance or fulfill our expectations.

Gristly food isn’t appetizing. Neither are gristly words! Unfortunately, there are too many hard words bantered about in our homes, workplaces, and culture. The results are broken relationships, misunderstandings, hurt feelings and bitter divisions.

To build good relationships and build lasting friendships, we must remove the gristle from our words. What does this mean?

Gristly words are:

• Angry and harsh words.

• Insensitive statements.

• Sarcastic and belittling comments.

• Tactless words.

• Ill-timed words.

The Bible calls us to tenderize our tongues. Look at what the writer of Proverbs said about this in Proverbs 15:4 (NLT) “Gentle words are a tree of life…” The Hebrew word translated “gentle” literally means words that bring health, healing, remedies, restoration and that cure illness.

It’s time to tenderize our tongues! As we do, we become healers in a hurting world. Tender tongues build friendships!

Pastor Dale

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