Lent, Day 20: Powerful Speech

Since we just spoke about worship I thought maybe we should discuss language/speech today... As an artist dabbling in the world of writing, words and language are rather important to me. But to the world at large, or maybe it's mainly in big English speaking countries, I feel that words have begun to lose their significance. If you're not so sure of this, you should ask an average teenager to define an intermediate level word like "ensconce" or "rescind." Or you can ask to have a look at a couple of their text messages.

"If our vocabulary dwindles to a few shopworn words, we are setting ourselves up for takeover by a dictator. When language becomes exhausted, our freedom dwindles – we cannot think; we do not recognize danger; injustice strikes us as no more than ‘the way things are.'
Some of the Ayia Napa delegates came from countries ruled by dictators, either from the right or the left. In both cases, teachers are suspect; writers are suspect because people who use words are able to work out complex ideas, to see injustice, and perhaps even to try to do something about it.”
- by Madeleine L’Engle

Though I have always been a book worm, fascinated by language and linguistics, it's been in the last ten years or so that I have truly begun to understand the significance of words. And, contrary to the old saying, words are rather powerful and can hurt or encourage deep within. In fact, the Bible tells us that God spoke things into existence! So words have the power to create, to awaken, to give life. And as children of the King, we have a great responsibility to create peaceful, loving atmospheres and relationships as we are called to share the love of God - we can do this just by the way we speak and the things we say!

"We need to be careful what we call ourselves and what we speak over ourselves because words have power. We must decide to agree with God's views and not the devil's views about who we are. ... With our tongue we can either bless or curse ourselves and others."
- Making Your Mess Your Message by Betsy de Thierry

So, I said all that to remind you to speak positively about yourself, about life, about God, and especially about others. You'll be amazed how doing this, even for those people you don't care for, will change the way you see the world and yourself.