on the weight of words.
it’s been a while since i’ve sat down to write, really write. too long, in fact. my counselor asks me about it often— “are you writing?” and more often than not, my answer is “no.” and i can’t really explain why.
today, though, the call was clear, and the pull was strong, and so here i am.
i’m learning a lot these days. and the lessons aren’t easy.
i’m learning that words carry a lot of weight and power in ways that can be helpful or hurtful. i’ve had to wrestle through the repercussions of both things i have said and things i’ve left unsaid, and it’s been deeply humbling. despite my over analyzation of things, despite my best intentions, despite my thoughtfulness, i’ve used words and the lack of words in ways that have stirred up responses that have been difficult to hear and harder to remedy.
with that? i’m being reminded again and again that impact matters more than intent. (thanks for these words, kelsey!) even though i didn’t intend my words to be heard/received/taken in a certain way, they impacted people in hurtful ways, and i’ve had to hear that, receive that, and make that right. i’m getting quite familiar with the taste of humble pie, to say the least.
there seems to be more sensitivity than ever in our culture when it comes to words, and it can be daunting to speak at all, knowing there’s no way to get it all right and a lot of ways to get it wrong.
but i also think our words are needed more than ever in our culture.
i don’t think we should speak rashly, but i think we should speak honestly.
i don’t think we should speak cruelly, but i think we should speak constructively.
i think we should speak up about what we are for more than we speak out about what we’re against.
i think our words should echo the words of the Gospel.
i think our words should shine light into dark places.
i think our words should bring healing and hope.
i think our words should carry love and not condemnation.
i think our words should be thoughtful and true.
i think we should lead with our ears, follow up with our tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear, like james 1:19 says.
i think we should talk less and smile more, like aaron burr says.
i think we should ask good questions and really listen to the responses.
i think we should be willing to hit pause on discussions or debates if they’re going too far or getting too heated, and i think we should normalize saying “I don’t know enough to talk more about that right now, but once i learn more, let’s come back to this."
i don’t think we should avoid hard conversations, or shut down when we receive criticism. i think we should be willing to receive feedback in humility, learning from it and growing because of it.
our words carry weight.
our words have power.
our words matter.
it’s my hope and prayer that the words i speak would overflow from a heart that is full of the goodness, truth, love, mercy, and compassion of the God i serve and the faith i profess. it’s my hope and prayer that my words would build others up, build the kingdom up, build up the name of God, instead of tearing down. it’s my hope and prayer that my words would sound like the words of Jesus— gracious, honest, kind, compelling, truthful, powerful, beautiful.
i’ll mess up a million times more, to be sure, but i don’t want the fear of saying the wrong thing to keep me from saying anything. i want to keep filling myself up with words of truth so they overflow out of me to others. i want to keep learning from the stories and experiences and responses of others so that my words are more meaningful, more helpful, more inclusive. i want to use my words for the things that matter— acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with my God.
i hope and pray that in my life and through my words, God’s will would be done and God’s name would be glorified.
Lord, may it be so.
