every idle word
words have power
Every idle word. Every careless word. Believe it or not, we can be quite careless with our words!
Consider the naming of names.
Words have power. I have to be wary about limiting myself to whatever weaknesses I could possibly have — or perhaps for a single event. For example, how would it feel to get caught being untruthful and then being dubbed with the title, “Here comes ol’ Liar”? That is who you are, forever, never to change. We also need to be aware of whatever label society affixes to us. Just as importantly, be careful about how you name yourself!
Words have power. In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus reminds us “we have to give an account for every careless word [we] utter” (12:36). Besides “idle,” the Greek word (argos) also means “lazy.” We too often don’t consider the impact our words carry. Or maybe we do! We might intend our words to hurt, calling each other stupid, ugly, worthless. We utter curses rather than blessings. We are told, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” What is in us has a way of coming out.
Words have power. That power can be wielded for good or ill. That power can be filled with grace or filled with reproach.
There are some words of wisdom which state, “truth is in order to goodness.” (It’s a nugget from Presbyterian history, but don’t worry, it’s available to all!) The truth must serve the good. It must promote goodness. It is possible to tell the truth with the purpose of crushing someone, beating them down. The truth can be told with malevolent intent. I call that “the devil’s truth.” It’s meant, as I just said, to hurt and not to help. To the extent it does that, it really isn’t the truth.
What stories do we tell about each other? What stories do we tell about ourselves? Are they stories of despair and discouragement? Are they stories of acceptance and affirmation?
I’ve often wondered, how many wars have been started (both wars large and small) over a word misheard? Once the word is out there, it’s out there. It really is impossible to “take it back.”
There’s an illustration many of us will recognize. What happens when we give a tube of toothpaste a little squeeze? Here comes the toothpaste. But what if we have a change of heart? Well, we could return it from whence it came. I have tried that, and to my amazement, I’ve never been successful. It’s impossible to take the toothpaste back.
In his journals, the Danish philosopher and theologian Søren Kierkegaard makes an embarrassing confession. “I have just returned from a party,” he says, “of which I was the life and soul; wit poured from my lips, everyone laughed and admired me — but I went away — and the dash should be as long as the earth’s orbit — [inserted in the text is a dash taking up half the line] and wanted to shoot myself.”
Of course, none of us have ever spoken foolish words, whether accompanied by drink or not! Idle words, indeed. Having said that, even when we speak out of turn, our words can be transformed; they can be redeemed.
There is a word which liberates. It is the word — the word permeating the cosmos. It is the word with all power. It is the living word. It is the word that defeats death, Jesus the Christ. It is the word rising from the dead and letting us know that in the end, nothing has truly been wasted.
Speaking with that word, our breath is never wasted.
May we accept the word about ourselves, no matter how painfully beautiful it might seem.
