Words.
Have you ever thought about how words exist and more importantly why they exist?
Recently, I had the opportunity to spend time with my three year old grandson, Leighton. He is at such a fun age and to see him in person versus over video chat enhanced the grandpa experience.
Leighton is all about words and his vocabulary is expanding at an exponential rate. While we visited he kept singing his A-B-C’s over and over and over. He was proud of his accomplishment and it almost got me to the point of joining in, “next time won’t you sing with me”. Listening to him sing this foundational song got me thinking about words.
Scripture paints the picture of the origin of the Word.
“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through Him and nothing was created except through Him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it.” (John 1: 1-5 NLT)
As I thought about Leighton and his vocabulary-building song, words exist by stringing together certain letters in a prescribed fashion. This is true for all languages.
The letters, C-A-T are formed to describe a feline house pet.
Take two, D-O-G is combined to generically identify man’s best friend.
You get the picture. No matter the language, there is some orderly construction of letters which takes place to make a word to describe something or to communicate a thought.
Those same letters used to make a word are then strung together to join other words like a ribbon on a Christmas tree to form cohesive phrases or sentences used to further convey an idea or thought. Sentences are then married to form paragraphs, deeper expressions, and in the case of a book, chapters.
Spoken words are powerful.
Written words are powerful.
No matter what the flavor, words are powerful and they carry LIFE or DEATH.
The author of Proverbs tells it like this, “The tongue can bring death or life…” (Proverbs 18:21 NLT).
An alternate version says, “Your words are so powerful that they will kill or give life…” (Proverbs 18:21 TPT).
The third chapter of the book of James offers a stark warning on the power of words. We are told if we could control our tongues we would be perfect in every way.
A horse is controlled by a small bit in its mouth. A small rudder directs the course of a large ship. The tongue is described as a “flame of fire” and it is set on fire by hell itself. The tongue is restless, evil, and full of deadly poison.
Hard to swallow? Those are not my words, the Bible vividly spells it out.
I am inclined to go into full repentance mode as I sit here and write (words).
How often have I been careless with my words in the presence of those I love?
When I had the privilege of commuting to work, what about those laser beams I shot at the guy or gal in the passing lane who was texting while driving or doing something not up to my travelers code of conduct?
To be fair, I periodically offered prayers on their behalf which went something like this:
“Dear God, bless the person in the other car who is texting (or driving carelessly). Help them arrive safely to their destination without hurting themselves or another (So far so good!). Thank you for helping me not to call them a stupid moron. In Jesus name, Amen!”
Prayers do not get much better than that, yes?
When traveling with my wife, I typically receive a well deserved sermon!
Whether I like it or not, that person deserves my respect as he or she is made in God’s image whether I personally interacted with them or not.
Gulp!
Since I am entrusted with writing words, I submit to a higher authority and ask Him to work on my rough edges. You might be laughing at or with me as you read this.
An educated guess tells me you share my plight and have had similar experiences where you have launched your own arsenal of words in an indiscreet or careless manner.
There are some issues which have deeper roots and what we say is connected to the soil of what we think.
“As He thinks within himself, so he is.” (Proverbs 23:7 NASB)
In the case of the vitriolic laser beams I shoot, when they occur I feel them rising in my noggin’ before I press the launch button.
When I walk by the spirit, typically no problem.
When I walk (or act) by the flesh that is where the damage occurs and the missiles get fired.
When a person has unforgiveness in his heart toward another, it is the person harboring the unforgiveness most negatively affected. In the same manner, when words are spewed out and directed toward another it is the one doing the spewing most negatively impacted.
It’s time to learn my A-B-C’s of words all over and allow God’s Spirit to have His way with me.
Care to join me?
It would do both of us some good to reconsider the impact of our words in whatever form they might take.
The Word does give life to everything.
If I stepped on your toes, my apologies. At least I have some company!
Until next time, blessings to you.