Recently, while at Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, we visited a fascinating bookstore, The Little Lost Bookshop, and noticed the following on a cushion there: ‘No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.’ As a writer, these words caught my attention. But they also caused me to remember how, in the past and recently, the words of world political leaders have indeed changed the world, inspiring whole nations to act in certain ways and espouse certain ideologies, for good or for ill.
Yet each day, although on a smaller scale, our words too have power to change others’ lives for good or ill. If spoken carelessly, they can cause great damage. When I was growing up, if someone called us a hurtful name, we often used to respond by chanting, ‘Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me!’ True, names – or negative words in general – cannot kill or wound us physically like actual weapons can, yet they can certainly bring lasting mental and emotional damage and even destruction.
But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. James 3:5b–6a
On the other hand, the words that slip off our tongues can be powerful in a positive way. If inspired by God’s Spirit and spoken in love, they can change one person’s world at least and even flow on to bless others.
In Luke 7, we read how a centurion asks Jesus, via some Jewish elders, to come and heal his servant but later sends a different message:
Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, “Go”, and he goes; and that one, “Come”, and he comes. I say to my servant, “Do this”, and he does it.’ Luke 7:6b–8
Jesus is amazed at this man’s faith – and speaks healing to the servant then and there at a distance. The messengers return home and, amazingly, find him better.
When Jesus speaks even one word, it carries such power and authority and changes lives. On one occasion, even the temple guards whom the chief priests and Pharisees had sent to arrest Jesus return empty-handed, declaring, ‘No one ever spoke the way this man does’ (John 7:46).
Those guards were right – no one even today can speak with the authority Jesus had. Yet, when we belong to God, God’s Spirit lives in us and can give us just the right words to say when needed. But this necessitates our staying close to God, listening well and allowing the Spirit to fill and renew us daily – because what is uppermost in our hearts and minds is what will inevitably surface in speaking to others, as Jesus himself once stated:
What you say flows from what is in your heart. Luke 6:45b
May our hearts be filled with God this week – and may our world be changed for the better as we speak words of love and healing to others.
Jo-Anne Berthelsen's Blog 