Just as the German proverb says, “Clothes maketh the man”, the words that you speak are like the clothing you wear on your body.

Say, you consistently use a certain four-letter word when something bad is about to happen. Because of your constant use of that word,  it becomes easily extrapolated from your subconscious mind to be used when expressing disgust or shock as well. 

If you are alert to detect this, you will realise that this “word” will gradually infiltrate into your life to a point where you will  find it hard to control its use, as it has become a habit. It will just come out of your mouth in the spur of the moment. And when you truly need to express yourself coherently in different situations, you will find it difficult to do so, due to the limited vocabulary base which you have not taken care to build up over time.

The result? You may be viewed as a person who does not know how to use apt words at the appropriate time and that will highly diminish the image you portray to others.

I once witnessed two Primary School girls, dressed in their school uniforms at a lift landing. They were barely 9 years old. One of them suddenly recalled having left something behind in school, of which she then exclaimed a certain F*** word.

Given the same situation, what words would you have used to “dress” yourself if “clothes maketh the man”? 

When the time comes for an apt word – like in an oral examination in school, or at an important job interview, would you choose to lace your conversation with profanity? Practice using appropriate words now or you will lose your vocabulary when you need it the most.

“Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken at the right time.”

Proverbs 25:11

Using apt words is like wearing shoes with a good fit, not too big nor too small and just right for the occasion. Aptly spoken words not only benefit us as a person and add value to our image, it also creates a connection with the listener of our words and such connections build relationships. 

You know, we are actually capable of intentionally giving careful thought to the things we say, because we can choose HOW we want to “dress” ourselves.