Words Mean Something
January 28, 2009“Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O, LORD, my rock and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).
Words: an utterance, a remark; to give voice, formulate, articulate
There is much power in a word(s), both positive and negative. Here are just a few: thank you, loser, well done, ugly, great improvement, incompetent.
The negative words I chose came from Pete Wilson and Amy Sondova‘s blogs. Pete’s the senior pastor of Cross Point Community Church. Amy’s a clinical counselor turned writer.
Read about Pete’s experiences with vulnerability from a platform, here and here. Like so many, Pete became wounded by words.
Amy courageously shares her experiences of growing up fat. I was reminded of how as children, words come so easily, so honestly, with little regard to the pain they can inflict upon others.
We often pass off hurtful words from children as immature. But adults? Those words leave gashes… wounds unable to heal.
So today, consider words as more than semantics. How do your words enourage, uplift, or comfort others?
Karen ~
You are soooooo right about the power of words. The old addage “Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me” is not true at all. I try to think of it this way: words have an echo which reverberates through the world. Just like literal sound waves, words (and their power) spread outward til many are affected. Thank you for recognizing the power of the spoken word today.