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

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