Word up.

Words.

There’s just something about them. They have the innate ability to rip you into pieces or lift you from the darkness. You can twist and manipulate them until their original intent is gone. You can dive into their roots and rediscover their true meanings. You can pour your heart and soul into them. You can speak them and move mountains or you can speak them and have them mean nothing.

The Oxford English Dictionary has 171,476 words in current use and 47,156 words that are considered obsolete. They also have about 9,500 derivative words included as sub-entries. On any given day, we speak around 16,000 of those 228,132 words. It astounds me that we often say so much in so little and, contrariwise, so little in so much. 

What are we saying? Who are we speaking to? Why bother to say anything at all?

Believe it or not, there are people out there who don’t actually mean what they say. Shocking, I know. We say things and make promises with no intention of following through. Which, in a sense, is freeing for both parties – but only if they both recognize that there will be no follow through. The person speaking is free from the responsibility to the one they’re speaking to. And the person on the receiving end is free from any obligations they might have had if there would have been any follow through. However, if they both aren’t on the same page, it leaves one person wounded by empty words and one with a twinge of guilt, if any at all. It seems to me that most people are content with this.

I’m guilty of this just as well.

When we talk with our friends and say things like, “I’m here for you.” or “We need to get together,”or “I’ll pray for you,” how often do we really mean it? We like to believe that we can do everything that we say. Its impossible, though. We’re human. We fail and fall short all the time. We are a far cry from perfection. [If you think you are, then please try to walk on water. I’d love to watch.] It’s taken a long time for me to realize this. Too often would I wait for people to follow through on their words. In that waiting, I’d be hurt thinking that they didn’t care. There are some who are genuine. But even they have their flaws. And I can guarantee that I’ve left someone waiting and hurting. I’m not perfect either. Please don’t expect that of me. I’ll only let you down. We can’t fully rely on other people. We can’t expect perfection from others. 

What really bothers me is when we give God lip service. Its inevitable, I know. [That brings us back to the perfection thing.] Think of how many times we’ve stood in our church services, youth groups, chapel services and just sang along with the band not because we meant what we were singing, but because the song was nice. Or recited a prayer like a well rehearsed speech with no hint of the Holy Spirit. Our words have such a profound and deep impact and we often don’t realize what it is we’re saying. Pay attention to the lyrics during worship. They weren’t written just because they sounded pretty. They are declarations to our God. There are implications to what we’re saying. We can sing songs that proclaim our freedom from bondage, and still walk with our heads down, burdened by our sin. We can sing words that give glory to God, and our lifestyles don’t show it. Think about the Lord’s prayer. Most of us can recite it without thinking. And that’s the problem. We don’t think about what we’re saying. I’m not saying be perfect, [I think I’ve made my view on that quite clear.] nor am I telling you to stop talking to God if you think you can’t follow through. I’m challenging you: be aware of what you’re saying.

For as often as we speak hollow words, God’s Word to us is never hollow; it’s never void. We fluctuate and change. We say one thing and mean another. We don’t speak when we should. We speak when we shouldn’t. We’re imperfect. But God’s Word is perfect. It never changes. It is without error and it is incapable of error. When God speaks to us, He’s not giving lip service. He means everything that He says. He tells you that you’re loved? He means it. He tells you that you’re accepted? He means it. He tells you that the only way to get to Him is through Jesus Christ, His Son? He means that, too. God’s Word is living and active. When we read His Word, it’s not like we’re reading some random piece of literature for school whose words – whether fiction or non-fiction – are dead. They don’t bring life to our spirits. You can’t get life from death. Death only begets death. But life – eternal and complete life only found in God – begets life. God’s Word brings life to us.

Some of the greatest conversations I’ve had weren’t laced with proper grammar or “big words.”

I’m not perfect. You’re not perfect. Let’s not expect others to be.  

Don’t stay silent. Your words have the potential to do great things and help those in ways you can’t imagine.

But don’t think there may not be consequences for speaking when you should remain silent. 

Don’t think that your words hold no weight. Whether you like it or not, they do.

While we can’t rely on the words of others to bring life to us, we can always rely on the Word of God to bring us life.