Words

The Power of Words

I have this love hate relationship with words. It is strange to me how something as small as a word can hold so much power. Our belief that words can heal, hurt, comfort and love is evident by the millions of posts on social networks by millions of people every day that consists of quotes and personal expressions of emotions. Words should not be ignored or taken lightly. They are weapons of mass destruction or healing medicine that can relieve as quickly as they can destroy.

Words are my constant companion. I have them spinning in my head all the time just begging or sometimes screaming to get out. I am thankful for this canvass here to unleash them, as I often get cramps in my hands from writing them with pencil on paper. It is like they are alive and demand attention. I have given my obsession over to God. I know I sound crazy and the men with the white coats may come to take me away. I am not insane, at least I don’t think I am. Words are living when we give them life, however, God is the one who gave us the power to birth words.

Words are a gift from God. He created them. He used them to create in universe and everything in it. The Word was powerful enough that Jesus was called the Word. He is the living Word of God. Jesus was at one point the word made flesh in physical form. He was the walking around, talking to people, breathing the same air as we do, real life Word of God. Our entire relationship with God is based and must be founded on the Word which is Jesus. In addition, we must take the permission that God gave us to use words as an honor that we must cherish. It is a big responsibility to write words, God gave that responsibility to the writers of His book and every one of them took that responsibility seriously. People have given their life for that Word, for the written word of God. People were murdered because of the Word, burned at the stake because of the Word, convicted to a life in prison because of the Word, honored because of the Word. The Word was protected from molesters by being hidden in caves and buried. At other times, the Word was assaulted, burned, degraded, praised, loved and held upon high. The Word of God was so significant that in biblical times only the rabbi or the teacher could read and speak the Word. Later the church gave that responsibility to the priests. Much later it came to average people like you and me.

The spoken word is more powerful than the written word in the sense that once it is spoken it can not be erased as the written word can. Both written and spoken words can be retracted, but once you say a thing that is strong, significant, hurtful or derogatory, the recipient on the other end will never forget it, no matter how hard you try to get them to. God spoke the world into existence, He did not write it, He spoke everything into being. Jesus spoke demons out of people, he calmed the waves with words, he saved us with the death of the Word on the cross, the physical death of the Word. Words are the life force of all of us, whether we believe it or not.

We must find the balance between ourselves and words. When words are taken harshly they can be damaging and if they are taken too lightly they may seem insignificant. The idea that words hold power to control you, taunt you and hurt you may seem foreign to you. You may be thinking that it is not the word that has the power but the user of the word, who is the source of that power. That is in part true, but the receiver is also the one who can give the word power or take the authority away. If you allow certain words to soak into your being and live there you then allow the power of the wielder and of the word to exist. You can as easily not allow that word to enter into your soul and cause the intended result of the word to disappear.

We must use words wisely. When we write words or say words, any words, even on a simple seemingly significant social media platform, we must take the responsibility of words to heart. They are our defining element that makes us who we are and who we can be. We will have to answer for our words one day, and the answer we give should be an honest one. We should be able to say that we used the gift of words responsibly and aligned with the will of God.

© Lori O’Gara