Many of us have had the experience of having a piece of tinfoil touch our metal fillings - especially when eating those little chocolate Easter eggs with their brightly coloured foil wraps. Little did we know that we were creating a battery in our mouth. A shocking experience!

Our mouth can be the source of some pretty unpleasant experience, not only for ourselves but for others. We rarely consider the opportunities our mouths have to encourage or to discourage others, to bless or to curse them, to heal or to wound. Our mouths can speak words of wisdom or of foolishness. So much power is carried in a word.

Yet the words that proceed from our mouth have had their origin in our heart and mind. They flow out of our inner being. Our emotions and our thoughts come out in what we say, as well as what we do. Often times we don’t consider our words beforehand. Less frequently do we understand our own motives and the secrets of our own hearts.

Sometimes we draw on examples of others as we’ve seen them in action. We imitate their kindness and altruism, their harshness and critical spirit. At other times, there are emotional triggers - experiences from our past which continue to haunt our present situation. Sometimes it is a matter of our own personalities, our strengths and our weaknesses. Today, take some time to reflect on the sources of our conversations and comments. Do we like what we see? How well do we understand ourselves?

For Reflection:

• Think of some situation in which your words have blessed and encouraged other people. Think also of a time when your words have wounded someone else. How did you feel at the time about what you said? How did you feel afterwards?
• Now consider an occasion that someone said something that was deeply significant to you. If it was encouraging, how did it make a difference in your life? If it wounded you, how did you react? What happened to your relationship with that person? Was their criticism justified?