I’ve witnessed an epidemic among people. I notice it in my classroom often, and it’s nothing new. The same stuff happened when I was in high school, too.

We live in a volatile climate where words almost carry no meaning. If you look at the political rhetoric of our day, it's filled with harsh language, negative words, and verbal abuse.

That same thought has carried over into the rest of our society. I've noticed this daily at my daily job when I observe my students and listen to the way that they talk to each other. So many of them speak harshly even to their own friends. Go online and it gets even worse.

Maybe I'm just getting old and my skin isn’t as thick as it once was. Or maybe things are actually different. Or maybe nothing has really changed, and I’m just now more aware of it. The rise of the internet, at least, has made it more prominent and easy to leave caustic comments behind anonymity.

I won’t pretend I’m immune. I used to be a very sarcastic person. My friends and I often joked about being sarcastic in college, saying that we spent four years learning to perfect the art of sarcasm with each other. But I guess as I've grown older, I've started to realize how powerful words can actually be and the negative impact they can have on others.

Words have the power to encourage and build up, but they also have the power to destroy. And we can throw around silly rhymes about sticks and stones, but the truth is that words carry a lot of weight behind them, whether we realize it or not. In James 3, James says in verses 3 and 4, “Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!” He goes on in verse 6 to explain, “And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.” The tongue is a small but powerful thing, indeed.

We like to veil insults and excuse them by just saying, “I was only joking,” as if saying that it was a joke will negate the words. That's not always the case. In fact, Proverbs 26:18 and 19 says, “Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, I'm only joking.”

We can say that it was only a joke, but those words often will stay with someone and setting ablaze a forest fire of doubt, insecurity, and anger. I hear my students insult each other and then just throw out, “I was just joking,” but it doesn't always come across that way. We have to understand that those words, joking or not, are like shooting flaming arrows. It may not immediately ignite, but the smoldering embers will one day catch.

Instead, we should develop a culture of encouragement. Positivity and affirmation are the answer. I’m not talking about babying others, but genuinely encouraging them and speaking light into others. This is especially true for anyone who professes to follow Jesus. It's something that I have been working really hard to do, and it's something that a lot of people don't realize that they need to do.

Paul sums it up in Ephesians 4:29 when he says, “Let no corrupt talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” The world is harsh enough as it is. We don’t need to add to it. Once we remember that our words may stick with people for a long time we should put out words that will build up not tear down.

How do you speak to others? Could your tongue use a little rudder adjustment to steer you in the right direction? Who is in your life that you can encourage today?