Many of us tend to utter negative, harsh words against ourselves when we get disappointed or when we fail at something. While many of us think of this habit as merely expressing our disgust or disappointment with ourselves, what we do not know is that these expressions of disgust are not just mere words that we speak.
Proverbs 12:21 warns us, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits."
What negative words we say to ourselves in times of disappointment and failure might help or even further impede our chances for success and improvement. Worse, we end up cursing ourselves, allowing the devil to accuse us and hinder us from living a godly life, simply because of our own recklessness with words.
Speaking positively
Friends, it's not about praising ourselves. It's about refraining from cursing ourselves, which is tantamount to declaring that Christ died for a worthless or useless cause. It's about choosing what is godly, right and life-giving over what is deadly. Think about it.
Some of us love to call ourselves with foul names. We often label ourselves as weak, hopeless, and one who's never going to change. Some of us call ourselves worthless and unworthy. While all of these are true when we look at them from the perspective that we are without Christ, it is because of Jesus that we should not call ourselves this way anymore.
What Jesus did
The Bible says that Christ died for all of us because God loved us so much (John 3:16; Romans 5:6-8). Jesus paid for our freedom with His blood. He purchased us from the hold of sin over our lives, so that we could belong to Him and that we would live for Him who died for us. If we are in Christ, we are a new creation. And this new creation we don't own anymore – Jesus owns us.
Because of this, we don't have a right to hate and call "stupid" what God called "beloved." We don't have a right to call "worthless" what God has declared "priceless." We don't even have a right to speak ill-meaning and ill-intentioned things because God owns our tongues! If we realise that God owns all of our being, and that we have died with Christ, the desire to speak negative and damaging words over our lives and others' lives should disappear over time.
Take back the wrong that you've said
Friend, if ever you've spoken a careless word about someone, even to yourself, you should ask the Lord for forgiveness and take them back. Jesus said according to Matthew 12:36-37, "And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you."
My wife and I were talking about taking back the wrong declarations we've made over ourselves, and I realised that it matters to God. Take for example Peter, who denied Christ three times. Jesus, after His resurrection, asked Peter "do you love Me" three times as well – perhaps cancelling Peter's erroneous declaration and confirming the truth of his love for Him. After all, our words will be judged. It's best to take the bad words back, and refrain from speaking badly about ourselves and other people.
