The Power of Words

I’ve used drugs. Yes, I know, shocking right? But I have, and so have you. Everyone that has spoken a single word has used drugs. Rudyard Kipling claims that “Words are… the most powerful drug used by mankind.” Think about that for a second. If words are a drug, then they were originally meant to serve a good purpose; but they also have the ability to become corrupted and can ultimately ruin a life. Words have the power to either build a person up or completely defeat them.

            A pastor once told me that a lot of people who talk trash about other people are hurting and insecure themselves. Throwing insults and discouragements at other people, especially those they are jealous of, is a way that they make themselves feel better about their own flaws. However, what they do not realize is how their words stick with people for years. According to Nan S. Russell, “Words create impressions, images and expectations. Poorly chosen words can kill enthusiasm, impact self-esteem, lower expectations and hold people back.” Words can impact a life forever. James 3:6 in The Message version says, “It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.” However, God also wants us to know that our words can have a positive impact on other people too.

             “Well chosen words can motivate, offer hope, create vision, impact thinking and alter results,” says Russell. St Teresa of Lisieux once said, “One word or a pleasing smile is often enough to raise up a saddened and wounded soul.” Whether a person remembers what you said to them, they will remember how you made them feel; and according to Maya Angelou, that is enough reason to speak encouraging words to others. When choosing the words you speak, remember that everyone you meet is God’s creation just as much as you are.
            Not only do your words impact others, but they impact your life just as much or maybe even more. An anonymous author once said that “When we encourage others, we increase our own Divine Qualitites.” Have you ever been writing a note to a friend, or talking with them about something they’re going through, and all of a sudden it’s like you’re not the one talking anymore? But once you listen to what you’ve said or read what you’ve written down, every word of it is something you needed to hear just as much? It is interesting how God works to say everything He needs to through His people.
            When I was younger, I was always the one on the receiving end of the people trying to make themselves look better by making me feel terrible. And for a while, I was just as bad as they were; I was hurting so bad from what they were saying to me that I did the same thing to other people; but my art was making up lies about them to make myself look better. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I truly realized God’s best for me and started listening to what He has to say instead of what others said. Although a lot of the things people said to me through the years have stuck with me until today, God has shown me a better way to combat the power their words carry in my life. God has blessed me with the gift of encouragement and has shown me that by encouraging others, you can make yourself feel better too. So instead of allowing the things people say hurt me forever, God has shown me how to let Him speak through me to give them a compliment or a word of encouragement. So many times this has come back to bless me even more in return than it blessed the person I said it to. Since God revealed this truth to me, I have allowed God to completely speak through me and have been encouraged so much by things that other say and that I say to others.
            Just a few weeks ago, there was a day at school when it seemed that everyone was giving compliments to everybody else. The whole atmosphere of the school was different, better, lighter. Everyone was in a good mood and God was speaking through people to touch others’ hearts. My friends and I called that day “Compliment Day.” Not only was I able to encourage others that day, but many people encouraged me. People were amazed at how great they felt, and so was I!
            Maybe you’ve been on the receiving end of someone’s inner pain coming out in their words to you.  Let me be the first to say, those words can dig into your heart forever; but allowing God to work things out can take what those words have done and shape you into what God desires you to be. Maybe you’re the one who has been tearing up people’s hearts with your words, whether you knew it or not. God can take what was meant for evil and turn it into good to use for His glory. In both cases, learning to allow God to encourage others through your words can do amazing things in people’s lives.
            Whichever side you come from, I challenge you to make everyday “Compliment Day” just as Hebrews 3:13 says. Honestly, there are going to be days that it seems almost impossible to say something encouraging to someone else when you’re feeling so down and out yourself; but you’ll be amazed at how refreshed you feel when you see how you’ve made someone’s day with what you said to them. Ephesians 4:29 in the New Living Translation commands that we “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” Imagine how great it would feel to know that you are helping to change a life little by little that has been so impacted by the power of words.

We’ve all used drugs, and use them everyday; but think of how you can reverse the side effects of those drugs. Words are powerful. They can either encourage or they can completely destroy. In the words of Colin Dunbar, “To encourage is one of the greatest things that you can do for someone.” So how are you going to use your words to impact the people around you?