The Power of Words

Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose. Proverbs 18:21 The Message

As a sophomore in high school, I was just entering the phase of wondering what I was going to do once I graduated. I knew I would go to college, but I didn’t have any idea what my major should be or what kind of career I should pursue. I considered something in the medical field even though I wasn’t all that interested in science. Beyond that, I didn’t have a clue. Thankfully, I was only 16. I still had time.

Then one evening our phone rang. It was for me. That in and of itself was unusual. I rarely if ever had anybody call me. This was before the days of cell phones, so the one phone we had on the kitchen wall was for everyone in my home and primarily for my parents. However, this call was for me. Even more amazing was the fact that the person calling was the pastor of our church.

I don’t recall our pastor ever calling us. We didn’t socialize with the pastor. I wasn’t even sure he knew who I was. Yet here he was calling me. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he reminded me that youth week was coming. This was the one week of the year when the youth were asked to take on various responsibilities in the church. I always opted for usher. It was safe, and I knew what to do, since my dad was an usher. So I expected that he would ask me if I was willing to be an usher again.

His next words changed my life forever. He asked me if I would be open to being the pastor for youth week. Part of my responsibilities was to preach on a Sunday night during youth week. Until that moment, I had never considered even the possibility of doing such a thing. And I had no idea that his words to me on the phone would eventually lead me to vocation ministry. That’s the power his words had. They gave life to me.

At the same time, I can still remember some of the painful words I’ve heard over the years. I remember being threatened in the first grade by an older boy who just wanted to prove his superiority. I remember being ridiculed by classmates, because I didn’t know how to tumble properly in gym class. I remember being falsely accused by church members of being untrustworthy, because I didn’t agree with them about some action the church was taking. These words were all poison that I had to clear from my soul.

That is the nature of words. They are, as the writer of Proverbs said, life or poison. We get to choose between them. That choosing has two parts to it. First, we choose how we are going to allow the words of others to define our lives. We have to decide whether or not to accept the life-giving words and reject the words of poison or to doubt the words of life and allow the poisonous words to cripple us. At the same time we have to choose what kind of words we will say to others. Will our words be life to them or will they spread deadly poison in their souls? Again, we have to choose.

Know this. Words are powerful. As followers of Christ, we must learn to hear his life-giving words amid the poisonous words of the world. We must also learn to give those same life-giving words to others and resist with every ounce of our being any thought of spewing poison from our mouths. So let us choose, and let us choose well.