Words or the Lack Thereof

So often we approach life and communication with such cavalier. We serve and volley words back and forth as if they’re some inanimate piece of sports equipment that has little or no meaning.

Wordsmithing in the 21st century has become so easy and frivolous that anyone with broadband and the least-among-us-hunt-and-peck-method of keyboarding can post a blog, a tweet, a status update or any number of other means of faux communication.

The thoughts came to me earlier today as I considered my own words or the lack thereof. That’s right, words or the lack thereof. Either way one can find themselves on the wrong end of the fulcrum of intent.

As I understand the Bible and Christian theology, words are paramount to God. He created the entire cosmos with the power of Word. As a matter of fact, His Son has the title The Word of God. He tells us to confess or speak words so as to be forgiven of sin or receive the subjective part of our salvation.

He tells us, life and death are in the power of the tongue. He tells us that blessings and curses flow from the mouth of man, as well as the divine. He tells us that His Word will last forever. Even when the cosmos implodes, Word will continue to echo where nothing else exists.

So words must have power; right? I mean, that whole stupid thing about sticks and stones breaking my bones, but words can never hurt me, must have been penned by someone who was never called fat, ugly, stupid or a looser in the public setting of junior high school. Or at least if they had, those words were outweighed by affirmative words of love and affection.

And then there’s the flip side; the lack thereof. Sometimes our silence is tacit agreement with evil or malice. You know what the Bible tells us about being ashamed of the Son of God before men? I mean, our condemnation is readied for us if we don’t speak of the Son of God when the opportunity arises. So in that case silence is not golden.

On the other hand, sometimes keeping our mouth shut is the best display of wisdom one could express. You know the old saying; if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all. I guess that’s good advice. That’s even found in the Bible; Psalms and Proverbs I think.

So here I sit on the horns of a dilemma. Can I use that cliché? If I speak or write; my words can kill or destroy. If I speak or write; my words can give life and restore. If I don’t speak or write; my lack of communication can imply agreement with evil. If I don’t speak or write; my lack of communication can imply the greatest wisdom for the moment.

Can you see my problem?

Words or the lack thereof… be very careful.