The start of term offers students and staff an opportunity to be challenged and set personal goals for the term. At the Term 4 assembly, I challenged the Secondary school to consider the impact of their words. Below is a version of that challenge, shared here to continue the conversation beyond the school gates. It would be valuable to reflect on this at home:
How are words used in your house?
How do you model communication with your adolescent?
The Power of Our Words: A Challenge for Term 4
At the beginning of last term, I gave you a challenge: try something new. Hands up if you gave something new a go! Whether it was a new subject, sport, friendship, or mindset—well done for stepping outside your comfort zone.
This term, I want to challenge us in a different way: to reflect on the power of our words, both online and offline.
In a video we just watched, Mohammed Qahtani (first 3 min) speaks about how words can either spread falsehoods—like misleading facts about smoking—or breathe life into someone, like his young son who had made a mistake. It reminded me how deeply our words can impact others.
Think About This...
Has someone ever:
- Encouraged you?
- Made you feel capable of something you didn’t think you could do?
- Stopped you from doing something you felt ready for?
- Made you feel worse about a situation?
- Comforted you?
- Torn you down?
- Embarrassed you?
- Built you up?
- Our words matter. They reveal who we are and what we believe. They are a window into our hearts.
The Bible speaks powerfully about this in James 3:3–6:
3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider that a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire,
A Personal Story
Let me share a moment I’m not proud of.
It was the first day of a new sports program I was responsible for. A student, Chris, wanted to switch sports last-minute to be with his friends. I was stressed, and his request was persistent. I responded by berating him publicly.
In that moment, my words were a spark—and I set Chris’s world on fire.
How do you think he felt?
Did I build him up or tear him down?
I tore him down. And I knew I had to fix it.
Later, I found Chris and talked it through. I explained why I reacted the way I did, acknowledged that my response was wrong, and apologised. Even though Chris had made a poor choice in requesting a change in sports on the morning of the event, it didn’t justify my poor response.
I made a conscious decision to use my words to build him up and restore our relationship. We moved forward with a stronger connection—and we’re still in touch today.
Your Challenge for Term 4
You have a choice with your words.
Will you use them to build or to tear down?
Think about the people you enjoy being around. How do they speak to you?
How can you use your words to build up your friends, your parents, your teachers, and the people you meet in the community?
Let’s make Term 4 a time where Secondary chooses words that build.
We’re human—we’ll get it wrong sometimes. But even then, our words can help. Be humble. Apologise. Restore.
Your challenge today is simple but powerful: Use your words to build others up.
How will you respond?
