Power of the Spoken Word


I have a friend that studied to be a Roman Catholic Brother.  (That means a monk.)  In that process you have to go for an extended period of time in silence.  The different orders have different links of time, but they are all long. I struggle to remain silent even when by myself. Scriptures that speak of remaining silent always convicted me.  Scriptures like Proverbs 13:3, Proverbs 17:28, and Proverbs 10:19.  But, there is more to our tonge than just holding it.
We have to speak every day.  To our teachers, our employees, our bosses, or spouse, our friends, and on bad days to policemen.  What is in a word spoken?  Words flow so freely that it is easy to forget the power they have.  I remember things that were said to me by friends, coaches, my father growing.  Some of them good that built me up.  Some of them that were painful that still cause me problems today.  We all have issues with words.  Words have power; they have always had power.
From the very beginning we see the power of words.  The LORD spoke words at the start and the universe was born.  The LORD spoke light shown.  The LORD spoke and plants grew.  The LORD spoke and animals were.  The LORD spoke and we were.  His words had and have power.  He is God.  That’s not surprising.  We are also told in Genesis that man was made in the likeness of God.  Since we are made in the likeness of God, our words also have power.  Our words have the power of life and death. (Proverbs 18:21)
Our words have power.  We have the power of life.  We have the power of death.  There are no idle words.  Whether we intend to or not, our words affect people.  Since the words we speak have power, we should be careful of the words we speak.  Good gun safety teaches that you always handle the gun like it is loaded.  Our words have power much like a gun.  It can be used to protect or to injure.  We should be careful with our words.
  1. Has another's words discouraged you?  Blessed you?
  2. Do you struggle with your words?

--Zine Smith

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Comfort Trap

Image
'One person dies in prosperity, completely comfortable and secure, the picture of good health, vigorous and fit. Another person dies in bitter poverty, never having tasted the good life. But both are buried in the same dust, both eaten by the same maggots.' Job 21:23-26 One of my favorite music groups of all time is a little-known group, House of Heroes .  I had them in for a fundraising concert several years ago.  Early in the show, they performed one of my favorite songs;  The Comfort Trap .  Here are just a few words from that song: I'm gonna get nice things and get my way Even if it means there's hell to pay I'm gonna have my cake and eat it too And what I don't eat I'm gonna force feed you I'm not looking for consolation Maybe I can settle for compensation Have my cake and eat it too And if it's all a lie, I'm gonna say it's all true It seems to be a universal state of our world that if what we think is a l...
Read more

People of Vision

Without revelation, people run wild, but one who follows divine instruction will be happy. Proverbs 29:18 I have had excellent vision for most of my life.  My sight was better than 20/20.  When I was in late high school, I was told by my optometrist that I was going to have a hard time as I got older.  I asked, "Why?"  He said, "Your eyesight is going to get worse as everyone's does.  You're going to think you need glasses, but no optometrist is going to give you eyeglasses for 20/20 sight."  My vision didn't last as long as I would have liked due to MS.  I now see an ophthalmologist annually which I visited this past week.  They have the worst games!  "One or two?"  "Which line can you read?"  "Better or worse?"  Augh!  If I could see well I would tell them?  Isn't that why I went to the eye doctor?  To correct my vision that I know is flawed?  And my eyes are fine.  My eye shape and lense...
Read more

Death Precedes Life

Image
"So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.” But when Jesus heard about it he said,“Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days." John 11:3-6   Author Henry James said, "Life is a predicament that precedes death." The caterpillar appears to be a full animal. It eats on leaves. It crawls around and tries to avoid being eaten by birds and other predators. From a passing glance, the caterpillar appears complete. From an anthropomorphized view, the caterpillar thinks itself complete. We know that the caterpillar is but a butterfly pupae; an immature form. It is nothing like what it will be. The caterpillar must go through a metamorphosis that resembles death. The outer-layer dies forming a chrysalis that inside the butterfl...
Read more