“Watch out for those trigger words,” the young couple heard Pastor Kenward say to them. “I call them trigger words because they are deadly to relationships and always wound each other. In fact, often they lead to further escalation of problems. Those words are “NEVER” and “ALWAYS”! Do you realize how often both of you have used trigger words in the last twenty minutes?” the pastor asked.
“A lot, I would guess,” she said. She was right.
The pastor shared, “Here’s a couple of the things you said:
She: Pastor, he NEVER appreciates.
He: That’s not true. I ALWAYS do everything to please you.
She: That is a lie. He NEVER says thank you.
He: I would if you didn’t ALWAYS nag me.”
You know, friends, there is a lot of power in our words. The Apostle James wrote of the power of the tongue in James chapter three. It can be used for great good or great harm. I like what he also said in James 1:19, “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”
This was great counsel for the young couple. This is great counsel for us today. In fact, keeping this verse before our eyes and in our hearts will probably keep us quite busy today.
For today: Watch out for those trigger words and any others that would hurt rather than help.