I was reading and thinking this morning about the importance of words. Words can be deadly. I would venture a guess that without too much thinking you can recall a time when someone said something hurtful to you. Perhaps it was a name someone called you, or an accusation made to your face, or something whispered behind your back. Whatever it was, it hurt. The fact that you were able to so quickly recall it signifies its lasting impact on you. Its impact may have been amplified by who said it. If your teacher said the hurtful thing to you - it may have affected your willingness to learn or your self-talk about how smart you are.
The Bible talks a lot about words. I love the message of Luke 6:45b where it says our mouths speak what is in our hearts. If our hearts are filled with good and lovely things - our mouths will speak good and lovely things. But, if our hearts are filled with evil, our mouths will speak evil. James 3:6 speaks about how the tongue can set aflame the entire course of our lives.
What comes out of our mouths reflects not only what we think about others - but what we think of ourselves. Our self-talk reveals what is stored in our hearts too. Do our hearts hold what God thinks of us, or what others think of us? Whichever it is, it is telling about what we treasure. If we cling to the ugly words others have said about us, we are much more likely to speak those words to or about others. If we cherish what God has said in His Word, our speech will be glorifying to Him and inviting to our students.
Others get a glimpse of what is in our hearts by what comes out of our mouths. This should give us pause. David, in Psalm 19:14 asked God to let the words of his mouth be pleasing to the Lord. David understood the power of words and the desire of our Father to help us control what we say.
A quick evaluation of the words we've spoken today or a reflection on what we said yesterday will tell what's most abundant in our hearts. Luke called what we hold in our hearts, our "treasure." Our words reveal what "treasure" is accumulating inside us. What is stored in your heart? Is it a treasure of evil or an abundance of pleasant, God-honoring thoughts?
The treasure in our hearts is also related to our mindset. To encourage a growth mindset in our students, we must model it. Below are some ways to accumulate good treasure in your heart and thereby model it for your students.
Practical Ways to Accumulate Good Treasure
1. Meditate on the attributes of God. Here are a few attributes to get you started: Faithful, Holy, Impartial, Just, Love, Merciful, Righteous. Look these up in a dictionary, in the search field for your online Bible and in a commentary - to grow your thinking about God.
2. Think good thoughts. Philippians defines "good" thoughts as those that are honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praise worthy.
3. Let go of faulty thoughts. "Faulty" thoughts are those that are untrue, destructive, tainted, ugly, distressing, sinful, and hurtful. Look these up as well - to be sure and understand what God thinks of these thoughts and behaviors.
4. Be a forgiver. Our Heavenly Father forgives and forgets. Forgiveness is an excellent strategy to build a mountain of good treasure! Be sure to apply (with God's help) the act of forgetting with your forgiving! Grudge-holding will increase the negative side of your treasure scale.
5. Reflect on what God says about you. Here is just a small list of what God says (thinks) about you. You are the apple of God's eye (Psalm 17:8), beloved (I John 4:16), forgiven (I John 1:9), justified - through Jesus' work on the cross (Romans 5:1), bought with a price (I Corinthians 6:20), secure (John 10:27-28).
Model a growth mindset by filling up your heart's treasure chest with good treasure - straight from God's Word!
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