{"id":1816,"date":"2025-04-28T10:31:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T15:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/?p=1816"},"modified":"2025-04-28T10:31:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T15:31:12","slug":"honoring-dignity-by-the-words-we-speak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2025\/04\/honoring-dignity-by-the-words-we-speak\/","title":{"rendered":"Honoring Dignity By The Words We Speak"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Choose
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Choose Your Words Carefully<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.<\/em><\/p>\n

Proverbs 18:21<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all heard someone curtly reply, \u201cI won\u2019t even dignify that comment with an answer.\u201d Haven\u2019t we? After all, when we feel we\u2019ve been misjudged, maligned, or insulted, it\u2019s only natural to offer this type of retort. But is it effective? Does it promote understanding, reconciliation? Does taking a verbal jab at someone ever<\/em> make sense?<\/p>\n

Take Care Whenever You Speak<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Consider this, each time a person speaks or refuses to, it\u2019s a chancy venture. Depending upon our mood, our health, and our current emotional state, the person speaking to us is taking a risk. He doesn\u2019t know what we\u2019ve just faced down in the previous twenty-four hours. He has no clue how the pressures and frustrations of the day have weighed heavy on our minds. Add to that volatile mix the speaker\u2019s own state of mind and the combination can quickly grow lethal.<\/p>\n

Everyone Wants To Be Understood<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Whether in the workplace or in the home, every person internalizes life\u2019s demands, stresses, and expectations and finds plausible methods of handling them. Sadly, no one can always see with accuracy what another is struggling over. Given the fact that we all have to communicate to understand one another, opting out of verbal exchanges isn\u2019t an alternative. So rather than give in to preying hesitancies or conversely brutal frontal assaults, let\u2019s reset our mindsets a bit.<\/p>\n

Let A Generous Word Win Out<\/strong><\/h2>\n

How much more pleasant life would look and feel if those around us offered basic consideration. As every individual hopes for a little kindness to come his way each day, why not make the concerted effort to demonstrate a spirit of generous courtesy?<\/a> There\u2019s no law that says we must mirror another\u2019s bad behavior. We don\u2019t have to play verbal chess games trying to outwit our opponent. It isn\u2019t always; \u201cus against them\u201d\u2026often times a cranky person is just plain worn out.<\/p>\n

Dignity Is A Gift We Can Give Freely<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There\u2019s a better way and it\u2019s right in front of our faces. It\u2019s called offering dignity\u2026you know, that inner willingness to extend someone the forgiveness, care, and respect<\/a> they\u2019re not deserving of at the present moment. The bottom line is this; when we choose to treat another person with dignity, it only enhances our own. Likewise, when we choose to denigrate another\u2019s worth, we only lessen our own.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

What Dignity Looks Like<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

D \u2013 Do set the tone for a conversation by expressing appreciation and thanks from the outset.<\/p>\n

I \u2013 Invite positive feedback by pairing considerate verbal cues with friendly non-verbal ones.<\/p>\n

G \u2013 Graciously ask for assistance, advice, or cooperation.<\/p>\n

N \u2013 Never discuss hot topics if your emotional temperature is rising fast; wait until tempers cool.<\/p>\n

I \u2013 Initiate an atmosphere of open exchange by listening intently and without interrupting.<\/p>\n

T \u2013 Take the required time to talk, don\u2019t rush through a litany of requests.<\/p>\n

Y \u2013 Yield the day if need be and brainstorm new ways to speak and be heard on another day.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. Proverbs 18:21 \u00a0 We\u2019ve all heard someone curtly reply, \u201cI won\u2019t even dignify that comment with an answer.\u201d Haven\u2019t we? After all, when we feel we\u2019ve been misjudged, maligned, or insulted, it\u2019s only natural to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5318,"featured_media":1825,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[898,907,901,904],"class_list":["post-1816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal-devotion","tag-dignity","tag-offer-grace","tag-offering-a-good-word","tag-speak-kindly"],"yoast_head":"\nHonoring Dignity By The Words We Speak<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There\u2019s a better way and it\u2019s right in front of our faces. It\u2019s called offering dignity\u2026you know, that inner willingness to extend someone the forgiveness, care, and respect they\u2019re not deserving of at the present moment. The bottom line is this; when we choose to treat another person with dignity, it only enhances our own. Likewise, when we choose to denigrate another\u2019s worth, we only lessen our own.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2025\/04\/honoring-dignity-by-the-words-we-speak\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Honoring Dignity By The Words We Speak\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There\u2019s a better way and it\u2019s right in front of our faces. It\u2019s called offering dignity\u2026you know, that inner willingness to extend someone the forgiveness, care, and respect they\u2019re not deserving of at the present moment. The bottom line is this; when we choose to treat another person with dignity, it only enhances our own. Likewise, when we choose to denigrate another\u2019s worth, we only lessen our own.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2025\/04\/honoring-dignity-by-the-words-we-speak\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Michele Howe Writes and Reviews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MicheleHoweAuthor\/?ref=bookmarks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-28T15:31:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/2042\/2025\/04\/audio-2941753_640.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"427\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michele Howe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@reviewermom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michele Howe\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2025\/04\/honoring-dignity-by-the-words-we-speak\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2025\/04\/honoring-dignity-by-the-words-we-speak\/\",\"name\":\"Honoring Dignity By The Words We Speak\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-28T15:31:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-28T15:31:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/#\/schema\/person\/4c69d49ed101908835a1b9c0f08dd2cb\"},\"description\":\"There\u2019s a better way and it\u2019s right in front of our faces. It\u2019s called offering dignity\u2026you know, that inner willingness to extend someone the forgiveness, care, and respect they\u2019re not deserving of at the present moment. The bottom line is this; when we choose to treat another person with dignity, it only enhances our own. Likewise, when we choose to denigrate another\u2019s worth, we only lessen our own.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2025\/04\/honoring-dignity-by-the-words-we-speak\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2025\/04\/honoring-dignity-by-the-words-we-speak\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2025\/04\/honoring-dignity-by-the-words-we-speak\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Honoring Dignity By The Words We Speak\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/\",\"name\":\"Michele Howe Writes and Reviews\",\"description\":\"MicheleHoweWrites will offer thoughtful essays which unpack Christian biblical principles to apply in daily life. This column will also feature book reviews on a variety of evangelical Christianity topics to help guide readers to robust current works in this field.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/#\/schema\/person\/4c69d49ed101908835a1b9c0f08dd2cb\",\"name\":\"Michele Howe\",\"description\":\"Michele Howe is the author of 31 books for women, children, and families and has published over 3000 articles\/reviews\/curricula. Michele\u2019s books help encourage Christians of all ages to take their faith seriously as disciples of Jesus Christ. Her newer titles include: Brave Faith for Hard Things \u2013 Sacred Purpose in Ordinary Suffering, Fight for Joy \u2013 Discovering Peace in Impossible Circumstances, The Humble Life, Grace & Gratitude for Everyday Life, Finding Freedom and Joy in Self-Forgetfulness, Deliver Us: Finding Hope in the Psalms for Moments of Desperation, Joyous Faith, and Empty Nest, What\u2019s Next? Parenting Adult Children without Losing Your Mind. Her recent children\u2019s resources include: Living Bravely \u2013 the Super Incredible Faith Devotional and Big Feelings, Bigger God \u2013 Discovering God\u2019s Care in Good Times and Bad. Howe has been a reviewer for Publishers Weekly, Retail & Resources, and FaithfulReader.com. She has also been featured on hundreds of radio and television programs and has appeared several times on Focus on the Family radio.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.michelehowe.wordpress.com\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MicheleHoweAuthor\/?ref=bookmarks\",\"michelehowereviews\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/michele-howe-6104b17\/\",\"michele howe\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/reviewermom\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/author\/mhowe\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Honoring Dignity By The Words We Speak","description":"There\u2019s a better way and it\u2019s right in front of our faces. It\u2019s called offering dignity\u2026you know, that inner willingness to extend someone the forgiveness, care, and respect they\u2019re not deserving of at the present moment. The bottom line is this; when we choose to treat another person with dignity, it only enhances our own. Likewise, when we choose to denigrate another\u2019s worth, we only lessen our own.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2025\/04\/honoring-dignity-by-the-words-we-speak\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Honoring Dignity By The Words We Speak","og_description":"There\u2019s a better way and it\u2019s right in front of our faces. It\u2019s called offering dignity\u2026you know, that inner willingness to extend someone the forgiveness, care, and respect they\u2019re not deserving of at the present moment. The bottom line is this; when we choose to treat another person with dignity, it only enhances our own. Likewise, when we choose to denigrate another\u2019s worth, we only lessen our own.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2025\/04\/honoring-dignity-by-the-words-we-speak\/","og_site_name":"Michele Howe Writes and Reviews","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MicheleHoweAuthor\/?ref=bookmarks","article_published_time":"2025-04-28T15:31:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":427,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/2042\/2025\/04\/audio-2941753_640.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Michele Howe","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@reviewermom","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Michele Howe","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2025\/04\/honoring-dignity-by-the-words-we-speak\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2025\/04\/honoring-dignity-by-the-words-we-speak\/","name":"Honoring Dignity By The Words We Speak","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-04-28T15:31:12+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-28T15:31:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/#\/schema\/person\/4c69d49ed101908835a1b9c0f08dd2cb"},"description":"There\u2019s a better way and it\u2019s right in front of our faces. It\u2019s called offering dignity\u2026you know, that inner willingness to extend someone the forgiveness, care, and respect they\u2019re not deserving of at the present moment. The bottom line is this; when we choose to treat another person with dignity, it only enhances our own. Likewise, when we choose to denigrate another\u2019s worth, we only lessen our own.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2025\/04\/honoring-dignity-by-the-words-we-speak\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2025\/04\/honoring-dignity-by-the-words-we-speak\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2025\/04\/honoring-dignity-by-the-words-we-speak\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Honoring Dignity By The Words We Speak"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/","name":"Michele Howe Writes and Reviews","description":"MicheleHoweWrites will offer thoughtful essays which unpack Christian biblical principles to apply in daily life. This column will also feature book reviews on a variety of evangelical Christianity topics to help guide readers to robust current works in this field.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/#\/schema\/person\/4c69d49ed101908835a1b9c0f08dd2cb","name":"Michele Howe","description":"Michele Howe is the author of 31 books for women, children, and families and has published over 3000 articles\/reviews\/curricula. Michele\u2019s books help encourage Christians of all ages to take their faith seriously as disciples of Jesus Christ. Her newer titles include: Brave Faith for Hard Things \u2013 Sacred Purpose in Ordinary Suffering, Fight for Joy \u2013 Discovering Peace in Impossible Circumstances, The Humble Life, Grace & Gratitude for Everyday Life, Finding Freedom and Joy in Self-Forgetfulness, Deliver Us: Finding Hope in the Psalms for Moments of Desperation, Joyous Faith, and Empty Nest, What\u2019s Next? Parenting Adult Children without Losing Your Mind. Her recent children\u2019s resources include: Living Bravely \u2013 the Super Incredible Faith Devotional and Big Feelings, Bigger God \u2013 Discovering God\u2019s Care in Good Times and Bad. Howe has been a reviewer for Publishers Weekly, Retail & Resources, and FaithfulReader.com. She has also been featured on hundreds of radio and television programs and has appeared several times on Focus on the Family radio.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.michelehowe.wordpress.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MicheleHoweAuthor\/?ref=bookmarks","michelehowereviews","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/michele-howe-6104b17\/","michele howe","https:\/\/twitter.com\/reviewermom"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/author\/mhowe\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5318"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}