Kids: Dare to Live Generously! By Wycliffe Bible Translatorsಮಾದರಿ

Be Generous With Your Words

Don’t you love to get mail? Whether it’s “snail mail” or an email, it’s wonderful to keep in touch and share encouragement with others. When was the last time you received some encouraging words from a friend or loved one? And how did it make you feel?

Sofia is a girl who lives in Estonia, a country in Europe. She is a CODA, which means “Child of Deaf Adults.” Both of her parents are Deaf, but Sofia can hear, and so she speaks Estonian and also uses Estonian Sign Language. Have you ever heard about sign languages before? Sign languages are for people who are Deaf and need a visual language instead of a spoken language. So the words Sofia shares are often with her hands and arms and facial expressions. Isn’t that cool?

There are many ways to share words, whether you speak them or write them or sign them. And when you share words with others, you need to remember that they have a lot of power. That’s why you should be careful with them and use them for good — to be kind and encourage people — and not bad, like being mean or hurtful.

Proverbs 18:21a (NLT) even says, “The tongue can bring death or life.” That means words are a big deal. You should definitely want them to bring life to others! You can also use your words to practice generosity. If a friend has a question for you about something you already know, you can generously give him a good answer and help him learn something new. If your sister has had a hard day and just needs some time to chat with you to remember that you care about her, then you can listen and encourage her to share your love with her.

One of the best ways to be generous with your words is by using them to pray for others and bring their needs to God, our heavenly Father who loves to take good care of everyone! In the Bible, 1 Timothy 2:1 tells us to “... pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them” (NLT).

When you use words with generosity to communicate to someone in a way that touches their heart, it changes everything!

Prayer Point:

Dear God, it is so good and kind of You to want to listen to my prayers any time of day or night! Thank You for giving me words and language so that I can communicate with You and with others, sharing knowledge, feelings and ideas. Thank You especially that I can learn through Your Word, the Bible, and I can share its truth with others. Help me to use my words in all kinds of good ways to spread Your love to the people in my life and all over the whole world too. Also, please help me to be careful with my words; help me to be generous with encouraging words — words that bring life and blessings to others, just like You give me life and so much blessing. Thank You! Amen.