Proverbs 15:23 (NLT) Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time! Ecclesiastes 10:12 Words from a wise man's mouth are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips.
The tongue is a dangerous muscle. Words do hurt. Goethe observed, “No one would talk much in society if they knew how often they misunderstood others.” University books are written on the subject. (McGraw-Hill/Irwin text, Leadership Communication by Deborah Barrett, for example.) Saying the right thing at the right time is scripted in movies, but it is not in real life. Textbooks, seminars and higher education can well prepare the mind for leadership: it is only God who can prepare the heart. Wise (Godly) leaders are called to offer a distinction to the world by their words: words that encourage and do not destroy; communication that motivates and inspires followers; words that correct without demeaning the hearer; and replies appropriate to the occasion. Leadership is a heart thing. It begins there. It lives there. Do your words show it?
Copyright ©2006 by P. Griffith Lindell
Friday, September 15, 2006
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