The Power of Words

The power of words have always fascinated me.  Though they are just letters put together, yet they can do so much good and so much damage.  They can build up and they can tear down.  They can encourage and they can discourage.  They can sow love and they can fuel hatred.  It is this malleability and fluidity of words that make it so powerful.  But they are just empty signs.  Right now as I am typing, this keyboard is called a "keyboard" because we attribute this word to an object that contains keys or buttons with letters, numbers, and symbols on them that can be pushed down that is lined up on a board.  I can choose to call it something else.  But we know that for Christians, the WORD is neither empty not void of meaning.  The context in which we use "word" contains a deeper reality and a more profound truth.  But the "word" I am using here is just simply a stringing of letters that make up something to which we attribute a particular meaning.

We are told that we should not let what others say affect us negatively.  And yet we do.  This always blows my mind because of how words can really get into you head.  The brain has a protective mechanism known as the "blood brain barrier" that monitors what can access the brain, and it is highly selective.  Drugs (many) cannot pass.  Molecules cannot pass.  And yet, words can.  It goes right to our brains and affects how we think, feel, and act.  It's mind-blowing to me.

In the Scriptures, Jesus says that whoever says to his brother "You fool!" "will be liable to fiery Gehenna."  Words, my brothers and sisters have eternal consequences.  What we say here on earth will determine where we end up afterwards.  Do my words build up, encourage, and sow love?  Or do they tear down, discourage, and fuel hatred?  Let us think about what we say, and really embrace the old adage, "think before you speak."

Father, please teach me always to use words for love. Give me a tongue that can communicate truth in a loving way.  May I never be tempted to use words for evil and selfish motives.  When I am about to say something unkind please send Your Spirit to remind me that my words ought to lead them to You. 

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