Monday, November 11, 2013

Word.


Words are incredibly powerful. The Bible tells us that the power of life and death are in the tongue. God gave us the power to produce either more life, or cause death just by speaking. This is because we are created in His image. When God created the entire universe he spoke it into existence. You and I, being lesser beings – cannot create mountain ranges or rivers, but we do have creative power in our words. If you don’t believe me, just talk to someone who has been bullied, or better yet keep reading.
When I was in middle school or ‘the awkward years’ as I like to call them, I got made fun of quite frequently. Kids have a way of calling each other out and being so cruel. Top that off with my sensitive personality, and you get a recipe for an extremely wounded heart. Things that were said to me in those few awkward years have still stuck with me into adulthood. I struggle with feeling accepted, fat, less than, etc. These are all things I’m bringing to the Lord and allowing him to heal so that I don’t pass those feelings and insecurities on to my future children. Because I’m walking through a period of healing right now, it’s caused me to think a lot about how we speak to one another.
Since we’ve all grown up and are no longer in middle school the outright name calling has mostly come to an end. Right? Here’s the thing – we still call each other names. We even call ourselves names! Men jokingly call each other rude slang words, or tell each other that they are less manly than they ought to be. Women cut each other down, analyzing facebook pictures to see if the other has gained more weight. Families poke fun at each other when other members fail or do something silly.
Here’s the thing – each time you speak you choose to foster life or death in every person within ear shot. Every word out of your mouth carries power. Whether you are ‘joking’ or being thoughtful in the words you choose, they pack a punch.
You may be thinking, “Well, I’m not as sensitive as you Lauren, words don’t really affect me that much”. Are you sure about that? Ladies, do you remember the first time someone called you fat, too skinny, ugly, loud, even annoying..? Men, do you remember the first time someone told you to man up, boys don’t cry, that you were too slow, or that you didn’t have what it took? My guess is that you do – you remember the coach that ragged on you all season long, or the kid in middle school who was mean to you, or when a family member made you feel unwanted. It may take some self-reflection and searching, but my guess is that you can see how those words have manifested themselves in your life.

So, what’s the point in all this? Can we, as Christians, start a movement? Can we begin to speak life over each other? Let’s build each other up, instead of tearing down. Let’s teach our kids to love their neighbor with their words. Let’s teach them that ‘ugly’ and ‘fat’ are cuss words we don’t use do describe a creation made in God’s image. Let’s stop poking fun at each other and pretending it doesn’t hurt. Let’s realize that being a real man and real woman of God doesn’t depend on your appearance, athleticism, or accomplishments, but simply on being an imperfect disciple of Jesus Christ.
I hope my daughter grows up, and never calls herself fat. I hope my son grows up knowing his masculinity is secure not because of his performance on a field. I hope the Lord tames my tongue and changes the way that I speak to my husband. I pray that God makes every mouth in my house a mouth that produces life so that when we leave we are fully equipped to battle the death and darkness out in the world.


Proverbs 18:21
The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Proverbs 26:18-19
Just as damaging as a madman shooting a deadly weapon is someone who lies to a friend and then says, “I was only joking”.

Matthew 12:33-37
A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.