“A word fitly spoken” is one of my favorite Biblical expressions (Proverbs 25:11, KJV). The main reason is that words we use have dramatic impact. For example, just say the word “bomb” in an airport and you will immediately be detained or arrested, and, at the least, probably miss your flight.

One of the most important ways to apply “a word fitly spoken” is with words of affirmation. A conversation I had not long ago dramatically illustrates this point.

As I was walking through the dining area at our weekly church-sponsored free meal for the community, a lady called me aside for a private conversation. She discussed several personal issues and obviously had very low self-esteem. Finally she said to me, “Would you tell me I’m a good person?”

I was so taken aback that all I could do was to say the question back to her. This gave me time to think and finally to respond, “Can we pray about this?” to which she readily agreed. In my prayer, I stressed how important she was to God and to others, and sought God’s help in helping her accept this. This was a conversation I will not soon forget.

One of the most valuable actions we can take is to affirm another person. Such expressions as “You did a good job,” or “You look very nice today,” or “I appreciate what you did for me,” are ways all of us can be a shining light to those around us.

A statement I especially enjoy saying is in response to a child who tells me his or her age. I say, “That is a great age to be!” I’m usually rewarded with a smile and more conversation.

Affirmations will help a person have a good day and perhaps motivate him or her to pass on an affirmation to someone else.

Several centuries after Solomon wrote, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11, NKJV), Paul made a similar point with these words, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt…” (Colossians 4:6a, KJV.)

Let’s work on fitly spoken words, seasoned with a little salt.

When I was growing up in the fifties and sixties in rural southern Indiana, we had a “great room” and did not even know it. According to “Listing Ups,” a real estate resource, the “great room” combines all the parts of the living room and family room into one big room with high ceilings and plenty of light from windows.

For us this room (without the high ceilings) was literally the living room because except for bedrooms and bath, this room was where we lived and were family. You see, this room was also the furnace room. Our coal stove sat in the middle of the room and was attractive to all family members because we could keep warm in that room. This room was Mom’s quilting room and we had to navigate carefully around the quilting frames in January and February because that is when she spent much time making quilts. On Tuesdays this room usually became the ironing room. Lots of conversation occurred while Mom ironed our clothes she had washed on Monday.

This was the changing room for me in the winter because it was the warmest place in the house to change clothes. When more than four or five guests came, this became the formal dining room with card tables moved into the space to accommodate everyone. Mom usually had the visiting preacher for dinner sometime during each gospel meeting and we ate and talked in that space. Family birthdays were celebrated in that room.

It was the entertainment room because the radio was in one corner and I could get close enough to listen to Red Skelton or follow “The Lone Ranger.” Later it became the television room where we watched through a snowy screen “The $64,000 Question” and the “Kennedy Nixon debates.” With the radio or television off, on rare occasions it became the homework room.

Today we have compartmentalized much of the activities of the family at home. We have a separate room for each of the above in many homes. With the busy lives we live, I’m not sure we have nearly enough family time to eat together, laugh together, pray together, and learn about what each member of the family is doing or has done.

David reminds us in Psalm 90 that our time on earth is limited even if we live several decades. Our children live in our homes for a short time and then have families of their own. Our homes need to be places where we can share family time and enjoy helping each other grow and mature physically and spiritually.

Create a schedule where you all regularly spend time around a table eating, playing games, having lively discussions about what you are thinking, talking about school, or working.

It was easier in the fifties and sixties because we did not have the numerous choices families have today. The examples I gave earlier were not so much choices but a way of life for families growing up in America in that era. Let’s be sure to have a room where the whole family looks forward to being present and sharing our lives.

-Steve Boyd

We’ve dealt with snakes since the beginning. In the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-5), the snake tempted Eve and prompted her to tempt Adam.

Handling snakes can be deadly. In Acts 28:3 when the viper attached itself to Paul’s hand as he was building a fire, the people waited for him to die; when he didn’t, they assumed he was a god (Acts 28:6). Serpents have often represented the devil or evil. In Numbers 21:1-7, because the people rejected God’s word, they paid for their evil by being bitten by poisonous snakes and died. Imagine having your property infested with poisonous snakes!

But in one sense we are all snake handlers when we consider the metaphorical aspects of snakes symbolizing Satan and evil. These are the temptations we give in to and the sins we have not eliminated from our lives. The Psalmist makes this connection in Psalm 140:3: “They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s; the poison of vipers is on their lips.” Anytime we involve ourselves with temptations, it is like handling snakes; we can be bitten anytime.

In reading about snake handling religion, I found that over 70 handlers have died by snakebite. What deadly snakes do we handle? John speaks of some of the deadly snake-handlers in Revelation 21:8, “…the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.”

The people in Numbers 21 had to look up to the bronze serpent to be healed (verse 9). And the bronze serpent was a type of Christ since Christ was lifted up for man (John 12:32). Jesus Christ was lifted up on the cross (Galatians 6:14). The blood of Jesus is the antidote for the venom of sin and is the center of our salvation (Colossians 1:14).

Avoid handling snakes. And when you do succumb to temptation, remember that Jesus is the only way to be saved. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).