Nancy DeMas Walgamu says words can be powerful, just like weapons of war.

The occasion was the Boer War, that's B-O-E-R, a war that took place in South Africa,

and the specific battle was the siege of Lady Smith. It was about 1900.

And it was at a critical point in the war. Tensions were running high,

and the survival of the whole town was at stake.

And during this time, there was a civilian who would go in and out among the troops,

and he would make discouraging comments.

He never fired a shot for the enemy. He just sowed seeds of discouragement.

This is the Reviver Hearts podcast with Nancy DeMoss Walgamuth, author of Choosing Gratitude.

For February 15th, 2020, I'm Dana Gresh.

Today, Nancy begins a two-day series on how to handle discouragement.

She's picking up with that story of the man who was spreading discouragement among the troops.

And that was the last thing these courageous fighting men needed.

They were discouraged by the words that this man would speak as he walked in and out among the troops.

This man was finally brought to court.

He was tried.

And the judge said it was a crime to speak discouraging words at a time like this.

And so this man was court-martialed. He was sentenced to a year in prison just for being a

discourager. Now, let me ask you this question. If speaking discouraging words were illegal

today, would you be breaking the law?

Now, it may not be against the law to be a discourager, but I want to tell you today, it is a sin,

and it can do a lot of damage.

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