Words

Prompted by last week's lectionary text from James, some discussion groups with whom I work began to investigate the power of words. The text was from James 3:5b-10:

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue - a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and curse. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.

Wow.

In preparation for this past Sunday's three worship services at Shiloh Church, both Bible studies and two discussion groups that I lead dealt with this text. At several of them, we asked what became an important question. We asked, "Can you recall when someone said something that stung you, scarred you, or hurt you more deeply than you thought that words could?" In those settings, every person had a story.

One such story touched us all. A woman at Thursday's Bible study recounted this story: During her teenage years, while in high school, a girl walked with a friend of hers into an event. Her friend was thin and cute. A young man, who stood around the door, was a popular person in the student body. He said to this woman's young friend, "Well, hello, sexy!" He then turned to this young lady and said, "And hello, sexless." As she recounted the story, tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over, running down her cheeks. Even after sixty or more years, that hurt her more than words should be able.

Who has not been wounded by the careless, insesnsitive words of another? Even if they are meant in jest, words cut deeply and result in long-lasting scars. Each of us has been affected.

How often have we considered that what we say may wound others, however? One would think that awareness of the hurtful potential of words would make us more sensitive, more careful, more resistent to speak in ways that might damage others. Since every person has a story about the hurt caused by what others had said to each of us, one would assume that we would become more conscious of the damage that we might do by what we say.

If we are to live like Christ, embracing and embodying the archetype of his Crucifixion and Resurrection, then we are to build others up by sacrificing ourselves. We exalt others by serving them, as a function of our own sacrificial service. This is diametrically opposed to the ways that many of us speak and live. All too often, we seek, instead, to exalt ourselves by insulting, criticizing, making fun of, laughing at the misfortune of, name-calling, epithet sharing and outright cruel and damaging language. Oh, we call it humor or sarcasm. But the bottom line is that we do others damage in order to make ourselves more popular, better liked, more respected, more fun at parties and gatherings. Others laugh. But those about whom comments are made do not laugh. All too often, they are deeply wounded.

In Christ, we are called to use words that build up others - all others. Political correctness is not just empty language that is meant to appease every special interest. It is intentional embodiment of the archetype of Christ, building up persons who have been wounded by ignorant, uncaring, insensitive words.

Take this challenge. Spend a day attending intentionally to the words that we speak. Let no words do harm. Speak only that which builds up those to whom and about whom we speak. Refuse to be critical, to laugh at others, to say unkind things about or to them. See is it does not change the way we feel and think, even about ourselves.