Everyday Prayers with Million Praying Moms
Sep 24, 2026 · 10 min · 7 segments
"Stop being so bossy." Words from a third-grade classroom that Christie Thomas carried for years. New episode on the names and labels we carry, and inviting God to give us a new identity instead…
Christie ThomasGuestNicolet BellHost
Ephesians 4:29 says, "No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear." Three other desks stood with mine, making a nice, neat rectangle near the edge of the third grade classroom.
I took charge of the project until one boy decided he did not like my leadership.
What words or names have people thrown at you? Maybe the name-calling mostly happens inside your own head because your worst critic is yourself.
Years after the bossy incident, I realized that at that moment, I stopped being bossy.
Maybe you could see that as a good thing, but in doing so, I squelched my leadership skills for many years.
One by one, God is washing me clean of all those words and labels, giving me a new identity based on Him.
But what happens when we're the ones pegging the labels on others? If you've never labeled somebody in a fit of frustration or called them a name you would later regret, I'd like to meet you, because you're likely the most gentle person ever.
James wrote about how incredibly hard it is to be gentle with our words in James 3:5-10.
"So, too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things.
It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind, but no one can tame the tongue.
Ephesians 4:29 says, "No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear." Three other desks stood with mine, making a nice, neat rectangle near the edge of the third grade classroom.
I took charge of the project until one boy decided he did not like my leadership.
What words or names have people thrown at you? Maybe the name-calling mostly happens inside your own head because your worst critic is yourself.
Years after the bossy incident, I realized that at that moment, I stopped being bossy.
Maybe you could see that as a good thing, but in doing so, I squelched my leadership skills for many years.
One by one, God is washing me clean of all those words and labels, giving me a new identity based on Him.
But what happens when we're the ones pegging the labels on others? If you've never labeled somebody in a fit of frustration or called them a name you would later regret, I'd like to meet you, because you're likely the most gentle person ever.
James wrote about how incredibly hard it is to be gentle with our words in James 3:5-10.
"So, too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things.
It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind, but no one can tame the tongue.
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