Yes, Words Matter+

“Don’t tell me that words don’t matter,” Barak Obama has claimed even recently, and that thought if not the exact same words is not new.  As long ago as the Biblical account of the world’s creation, God’s words mattered, especially in regard to what Adam and Eve could eat in the Garden of Eden.  The serpent tricked the first man and woman about what God really had said to them.  Words, both written and verbal, can have a tremendous impact for the good and the bad. 

Recently, CBS This Morning aired a story about six soldiers stationed in Iraq, men who were right on the battlefields.  They discovered “The Gilmore Girls,” a wonderful series spanning seven years (2000-2007) centering on a close mother/daughter relationship.  Set in Stars Hollow, an alluring small town filled with interesting and memorable characters, the stories easily drew the audience in.  One soldier wrote a letter to the writers, thanking them for creating shows that briefly took the men away from the horrors of the battlefield and strengthened their bond.  The writers sent the men a “care package” with “Gilmore” jackets.  The writers still have the letter.  Yes, words matter.

Abraham Lincoln, whose works are examined in The Eloquent President, by Ronald C. White (2005), greatly valued the ability of words, clearly and eloquently written, to move people in mighty ways.  Perhaps his most memorable speech was the Gettysburg Address, delivered in 1863.  Edward Everett, a famous orator of the day, was to be the main speaker to dedicate the battlefield where so many soldiers gave their lives and where they were laid to rest.  He spoke for over two hours.  Lincoln’s speech lasting less than three minutes holds the words and evokes the feelings and ideas that provided hope and direction looking past the devastation of the war, words that mattered to the hearers and readers of his day and ours. 

Of great importance are the words we share with one another matter, sometimes in surprising ways.  Years ago, I took my mother to the funeral of a woman who had been Christian education director in the church I grew up attending.  I also sent a sympathy card to her husband, adding some personal comments of his wife’s effect on me and others.  When I saw him about a year later, he came to me and thanked me for those words I had written, words I had long forgotten.  But he had not forgotten because words matter.

As a teacher, I tried to impress upon my students that writing well was about more than just passing college courses.  I would have told them about the effect of the soldier’s letter highlighted on the morning news show.  And as Christians, we have God’s words, absolutely reliable and powerful.

Words and their potential to simply or eloquently express ideas and feelings matter, so let’s be sharing words that encourage, strengthen, exhort—whatever is of good use in God’s sight in this new year.