"P.O.W."
As a parent, I have said this many times to my rambunctious, half neanderthal, half superman, 4 year old son. "Watch your mouth young man!" Ok, I guess I have to be honest and say that my 6 year old princess has heard daddy say this a few times too. Granted way less frequent than my little man but still, I can't play favorites here.
It's very clear that part of parent hood is raising and teaching our children to be selective of what they say because of the implications of what happens afterwards. In other words, there is POWER in what you say.
OK...pause on that thought.
I am a huge fan of acronyms. Maybe because I can remember things so much easier when there is a cool word association linked to it but I do love them. As a children's pastor I extend that love of acronyms into my teachings sometimes when it's appropriate and I truly believe that I struck GOLD with this one. I feel like I have to preface this next part by saying that I'm NOT taking anything away from previous Prisoners of War. I have family members that have served in the U.S. military in almost every major conflict of the 20th century, but my acronym is the same as a very popular and appropriate military term that deserves recognition.
If you haven't guessed it, my acronym is P.O.W. Now, I don't say it with the individual letters as the military does but I use the actual word the letters create "POW!" That's right, "POW." *Power Of Words*
Back to what I said earlier. There is POWER in what you say right. "POW!" As a parent I know it's crucial to teach my kids what is and isn't appropriate to say but NOT just because. God has plenty to "say" about how we wield this powerful instrument of our mouth. Just spend some time in the book of Proverbs or James chapter 3:1-9.
-Proverbs 15:1-2 (NIV)-
"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly."
-Proverbs 10:11 (NIV)-
"The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence."
Now, I truly, 100% believe, in a passion we have at ECC about changing our community for the better. You want to change a community, start with the "children." Why? Because they are going to shape the future of that community. What does that have to do with POW? Check this out...
This is a prayer wall that we have in our elementary age kids church classroom. On it are prayers from kids ages 1st grade to 5th grade with no focus other than "you can talk to God about anything on your heart." If you want a sobering view into the health and well being of our future, I recommend reading some of these. You will get a mix of pure innocence (prayer for a pet having fleas), to unconditional love (prayer for grandma's health so she doesn't have to go to heaven yet.), and pain (dear God, please help mommy and daddy not hate each other so we can be together again.)
All of this is to say...from one parent to another, please keep up the good fight helping our kids be selective with the words they choose because they wield so much power. BUT, more importantly I ask, myself included, that as parents we realize the POWER we wield with our own words. They have to power to build up or tear down, to encourage or to discourage, to show love or show hate. They can shape a young persons life for the rest of their days here on this earth and as you can see, kids are aware to not just what they hear, but what they see going on in the home.
Out of love I pray that we, as parents, would take seriously the gifts we have been given in stewarding our children. With the grace and mercy God loves us with, I pray we put aside our pride and love our kids in the same way, showing them through words and actions how valuable they are, not only to us, but to their one true Father in heaven. Amen.
POW!