S.C.R.A.B.B.L.E

I love the game of scrabble.

Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by placing tiles, each bearing a single letter, onto a game board divided into a 15×15 grid of squares. The tiles must form words that, in crossword fashion, read left to right in rows or downward in columns and are included in a standard dictionary or lexicon.

Once played, no play can be taken back or withdrawn from the board.

Scrabble is so much like human speech. We use words which have a standard meaning, which send a message to the other person and which cannot be taken back.

In scrabble the player makes points with each word and creates a score to win or lose, likewise our words create an effect on others, making some impact. Positive or negative.

Our words are important and powerful, and definitely not to be wasted.

Words should be a testimony to the grace that is working in our life. If one has experienced grace, is aware and grateful for it, it will show in our words. Our words communicate the grace we have experienced.

A high-ranking corporate executive described what happened when he had not known grace. He said -

"Many years ago, as a professional manager I prided myself in my hard-hitting attitude and cold-hearted professionalism at work; letting nothing come in the way of success, whether people or circumstances. And when facing bottlenecks, my words and temper ripped people who I thought were responsible. Many years later, I realized those words, attitudes and temper were not a strength or a tool as I had thought, but a product of my own fear of failure because I did not know grace. And because I did not know grace, I could not show grace. "

Words are powerful tool to share the grace we have received.

In a world filled with hopelessness and uncertainty, let us use our words to share grace and bring hope. Can we practice charity in our words and use them to convey blessings, not curses? How many of us can recall the words someone spoke that pushed us past something we were dealing with, encouraged us, sparked creativity, or gave us confidence?

It's time to pass it on and heed Paul's advice when he says in Ephesians 4:29, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”