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| top A journal of commentary, narrative and poetry about navigating through life February 25, 2004
Words Possess Great Power
Benjamin Disraeli, stated, "With words we govern men." With words, the hearts and souls and spirits of men are not only governed, but also persuaded to acts of great good or unthinkable evil; words are used to gently becalm the spirit or rouse it to wanton acts of violence and destruction; words can give life, hope and assurance of a future and words can take a life, extinguish hope and destroy a future before it is fully birthed. Words can be whispered in the ear and make a lover swoon with affection and desire, and words can be thrown like spears to pierce the heart and put to death all love and affection. With words we possess the power of creativity, not unlike the power of the One in whose image and likeness we are made. Words are something for which I hold great respect, both in regard to their creative and destructive power. Here are some more facets regarding the power of words:
Words can bring light and life...
"The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple..."
(Ps 119:130)
"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life."
(John 6:63)
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life..."
(John 6:68)
They can be sweet and comforting...
"Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."
(Prov 16:24)
"Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."
(1 Thess 4:17-18)
But words used carelessly, can spell trouble...
"When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise." (Prov 10:19)
"Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few."
(Eccl 5:2)
"But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
(Matt 12:36-37)
"The tongue...sets the whole course of our life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."
(James 3:6)
I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book.
(Rev 22:18 )
And then there is One whose
word is eternal...
"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever."
(Isa 40:8)
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away." (Matt 24:35)
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
(John 1:1)
With Only Words
It is a most vulnerable and intemperate act
To believe myself a writer, to bare my
Heart and soul to you my fellow mortal,
With vowels, consonants and temerity,
Trusting in a mere line of written symbols
To carry the intensity of my heart to yours.
And yet a thousand feet above the rocks of oblivion,
As if mesmerized by my passion to create
By sowing the seed of my soul in intercourse with life,
I step out into thin air holding only the parts of speech,
Hoping to safely cross this precipitous chasm while
Balancing on an ephemeral thread of words.
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Thomas Fideler
All material published on, or printed from the Waypoints and Words Web
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