The Tyranny of Words

It is a very beautiful & perfect summer day, albeit with ninety-four percent humidity ( which is unheard of in the Black Hills of South Dakota! ) I feel like I just stepped out of the lake, but it is definitely not refreshing!

No need to put on make-up until I turn the air-conditioner on because it will just "glow" off. Which has absolutely nothing to do with this post, just a little description of a lovely summer morning (except for the aforementioned humidity) here at 'Raintree Farm'.

But this preface to the title is a true story, (sounds kind of dramatic doesn't it?  😮)

It was on a mild summer night & I was sleeping peacefully, but awakened abruptly to a fluttering in my ear. I immediately sat up & realized a moth had definitely gotten off its' course & flew right into my ear! I have to say it was very disconcerting & was working it's way into panic. What does one do with a moth fluttering in one's ear? First, I tried pouring water into my ear hoping it would drown. It simply did the backstroke until I drained the water out. Flutter flutter...hmmm, still alive & well. I called ER & asked if they had any ideas. They didn't. The nurse did say if the moth remained that it could cause dizziness or vertigo. Vertigo! She just said the magic word. I had had a terrible attack of vertigo not to long prior to that & could not bear the thought of going through that again  (vertigo has to do with the loosening of crystals in the inner ear which can cause the equilibrium to be thrown off bizarrely. ) For one who has never had an extreme attack of vertigo, it is impossible to imagine  how sickening & frightening the swirling dizziness can be,  & I was not going to take a chance of that happening as the moth in my ear was morphing into the size of 'Mothra'. 

So, I got the kids out of bed (this is when we lived out in the middle of the prairie on a five mile 'driveway' & I didn't want to leave them at home by themselves. Besides I needed their moral support. Just talking or even fighting was a welcome diversion to the fluttering of Mothra in my ear.) Finally my son suggested we play some Christian music to sing along to. Although rarely do our tastes run the same when it comes to Christian contemporary music, again, anything was welcome. Tobymac is one of the kids' favorite artists, so, in went the CD & my son picked out the song, "Speak Life". At first, I was just listening for the desperate distraction from fluttering, then I really started listening to the words. These are the words which specifically spoke to me:

"Speak life, speak life,

to the deadest, darkest night.

Speak life, speak life, 

when the sun won't shine & you don't know why.

Look into the eyes of the broken-hearted,

watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope,

you speak love, you speak life...."

We must have played & sung this song a dozen times & it is now one of my all-time favorite Christian songs, because that night God spoke His heart to mine. & because it was on the inside, the fluttering of Mothra could not drown it out. Of course, many scriptures come to mind & heart & spirit.  

"Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one."

Colossians 4:6

"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for NECESSARY edification (meaning instruction or improvement morally...) that it may impart, ( or pass on,) grace to the hearers.....Let all...evil speaking be put away from you...." Ephesians 4:29, 30

"Let the words of my mouth...be acceptable in your sight, O Lord..."

Psalm 19:14

"Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips."

Psalm 141:3

"& whatever you do in word...do all in the name of the Lord Jesus...'

Colossians 3:17

"But I say to you that every idle word that men (that means women too),  they will give account of it in the day of judgement. For by your words you will be justified & by your words you will be condemned." & that's Jesus speaking there.

Matthew 12:37

Wow, that's pretty exact. & serious. After all, what's in a word??

What's in a word?

How about life or death? 

"Death & life are in the power of the tongue..."

Proverbs 18:21

Now that's power. & God knows it. We have the power to create or destroy with our WORDS. That's why He holds us responsible for that awesome power.

"Some days the tongue gets twisted..." (more lyrics to the song.)   The tyranny of words is powerful. Destructive, hateful, demeaning, demoralizing, perverse, critical, judgmental, & as the song says, twisted. Death producing words, over ourselves, or worse, against others.

& here's  a scripture that really hits close to home.

"...to speak evil of no one..."

Titus 3:2

Uh-oh, antidote coming up. The scripture of the beam & the splinter again. (Matthew 7:5)

God created with Words. So let our words become Holy Spirit inspired, to speak life into our life's situations, into people, into ourselves, into our world.

& you know the old adage, 'think before you speak'? Here's is a quote by the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard:

"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use."

Ouch & double ouch!! I refer to the above scripture, Psalm 141:3

Especially when we know that we are responsible & accountable for each idle word. Idle means 'worthless'.

& what makes it even worse, we are talking to or about humans & humans are made in God's image. or personification, or representation, even identity. Words give a person their identity. So what identity are we giving to people with our words? & if you want your own identity clearly defined, read the Bible & find out how the Lord really feels about you. Read Psalm 139: 1-18. Read how precious you are to Him & the desire of His heart is to give you hope. & a future. ( Jeremiah 29:11) The Bible is filled with expressions of His great heart of love for you. As the old hymn says, "Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of LIFE".  He speaks life to us. We speak life to others. Let's be responsible with our words. There are some fragile, little lambs out there that can be broken beyond help, or refreshed, restored & redeemed for the Great Shepherd. Don't let the tyranny of words be your moniker. Speak life. Don't be concerned about the seemingly hopelessness of the situation or person. Your words could make all of the difference between life & death.

💖💖💖

Well, I couldn't end this post with such a cliffhanger, so I take you back now, as we are in the ER room. Enter at least four people carrying a syringe the size of a cannon with a gleam of determination in their eyes, & I knew that Mothra's minutes were numbered. WHOOOOOSH!!! It was a miracle that my brain was left intact!

One of the nurses picked up some tweezers & extricated Mothra's lifeless body with it, who had shrunk (thank goodness) down to the size of a small white moth, & showed it to the ER doctor who had not believed that I had a moth at all. It was a triumphant moment.

Now, was the Lord the inspiration of one little moth that deviated from his little moth path right into the black hole of my ear? I'm not sure, but I do know that every little thing that comes to us in our lifetime can have potential to show us His truths, His love, His mercy, His constancy in our lives. & how personal & precious & sweet He is. & let me give some words that are the opposite of tyranny.

Mercy, tolerance, forbearance, acceptance, mercifulness, compassion, charity, forgiveness, sympathy, kindhearted-ness, benevolence, tenderhearted, gentleness, kindness...the list goes on & on. & really, shouldn't that be a description of a follower of Christ, shouldn't that be our identity? & shouldn't we pass it on? by speaking....Life.

One other thing, I have to say that for awhile after that, I slept with pieces of cotton in my ears. I think I learned what the Lord was telling me.

Raintree perk of the day:

"May you have warm words

on a cold evening."