Words create and destroy

We do not always know the weight of our words. Words have power. God calls His own words a “two edged sword” that separates joints and marrow.

Hebrews 4:12 (Amp)

For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.

Do we fully understand what this means?

If I where to carry a sword, would that make me a swordsman or a knight?

We need skill to operate words.

We need different blades to cut different things in life. A butter knife is blunt, yet it serves a purpose. If a butter knife were to be sharp it just would not be as efficient. A fish knife has no cutting ability, yet the angel of the blade makes it ideal to separate fish on our plates. A chainsaw cuts down a 1000-year-old tree in a forest. A scalpel on the other hand is sharp, but smooth, thin, and uncontaminated, ideal to cut into flesh with minimum destruction of tissue and it is sterile, as not to cause infection.

Using words out of context and without careful consideration is the equivalent of using the wrong blade in an operating theater. Chainsaws, however effective out in the wild, are just not great tools when used for delicate reconstructive medical procedures.

If one had to line up four men, each equipped with one of the above-mentioned blades, the guy with the chainsaw would at first glance look like the most powerful man. Yet, if one gave the lineup more than an initial glance, one would realize that the real power lay in the scalpel. Anybody can operate a chainsaw yet very few have the skill to operate a scalpel.

In Genesis, God tells Abram that He is his Shield. Let no man’s unfitting blade cut your heart, and think twice on every blade you operate, for it will be the testament of your wisdom and skill.

Gossip is cutting into another persons flesh with a scalpel. The spreading of gossip however, is cutting into the same wound with a chainsaw, and blaming the original cutter.

The reason gossip is so destructive, is because the second person usually tells the story with no regard or reference to the situation, intention, environment or original context in which the original message was conveyed.

We should aim to gain knowledge, to operate with all types of words. Low-impact-everyday-words, gentle-words with a twist to keep things sophisticated and interesting. Words that can stop the course of history, wiping out unfair ways of life, cutting into the core of an issue and bringing down the injustice of its origin. And words, that skillfully heals and constructs with little pain and massive results.

Ask the Holy Spirit to guard your mind, ears, tongue and heart, every day, and you will radiate wisdom and you will experience the respect that is earned by effective Spirit lead words.