His mother is a friend of mine on Facebook, I do not know her in person, but this week I have been following her posts carefully. Yesterday was her son’s birthday and she celebrated it, by baking a cake (his favorite) and visiting his gravesite. She also visited someone from her past. It was a woman whose words had haunted my friend for six long years.
Who knows why this woman chose the words she used that day, six years ago, when she said to my friend “I don’t care about you. I don’t care about your son. You should be over it already.” Perhaps she was having a very bad day, perhaps she was frustrated, and perhaps she was just a mean and cruel person. I don’t know why. But what is profound and worthy of much reflection is the power those words had. They haunted this already grieving mother for six long years. When she awoke each morning, it was these words that went through her head.
What a terrible thing to do to another person. Someone who is grieving, someone who is struggling to make sense of things, struggling and needing understanding, needing hope, needing a shoulder to lean on…….and instead receiving those terrible words.
The book of James speaks about the power of the tongue
“A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.
This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue—it’s never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!”
I cannot help but wonder, have I spoken words in anger or frustration, have I said things to people whereby my words reverberate in their heads, causing them pain, causing them sorrow, causing them to doubt, to despair? Lord have my words destroyed the peace of another? Have my words added to the ruin in this world, have they turned harmony to chaos, have they tossed mud upon the reputation of another, have they set the world ablaze with hate and judgment? Lord………have my words done these things?
And I hear……..yes child…yes they have.
And my soul weeps for the truth I hear, from this still small voice that speaks in my heart. Oh I can proudly stand upon my soapbox and declare to the world that I have never once said a harsh mean thing to a Gold Star mother grieving the loss of her beloved son……….but I have said hurtful things, I have stirred fires with my tongue, I have tarnished the reputations of others with it. With this tongue that this very morning sang words of praise to my King ,with this very tongue…..I have cursed others made in His image.
Oh this piece of flesh that is so small, and yet so powerful, oh that we would tame it, oh that we would keep it ever under control that it would only be used for good, that it would only lift up, that it would only encourage, that it would only defend righteously .
Words matter……..so often we judge others and in truth we know nothing at all about who they are, what their struggle is, what circumstances and pain have brought them to the place where they now stand. We simply judge and condemn, and speak words without thought. We hand out advise without careful consideration, or we speak out of our frustration and anger……..and the things we say are a flame that burns……..it burns up grace and forgiveness, it burns up love and peace, it burns up brotherhood and goodwill……it burns and burns and leaves behind a scorched wasteland.
Oh Lord help us, to Whom can we go but You, we who are helpless to control this tiny thing within our mouths, this weapon of destruction that can so easily kill and destroy fragile souls. Lord shut our lips, shut them tight, take our very ability to even speak away if need be, but Lord let it be that we never so harm another with our words.
As for my friend, she did a brave thing yesterday, on the birthday of her beloved son, after baking his cake, after visiting his grave, she drove to the place where the woman was, who six years ago had crushed her soul with cruel words, and she confronted this woman. She did so with grace and dignity, she told her of the burden she had carried all these years, told her how the words were remembered every single day for six long years, told her that she forgives her, but she just needed her to know how powerful and destructive those words were. Today she feels free, she feels stronger, and she has joy, for she has laid the burden of those painful words down. We now pray for the one who spoke them. May her heart be open to what she heard yesterday. May she carefully consider all that was said. May she own the fact that she did, with her words, severely wound another, and may she then lay her burden down at the feet of the only One who can help us control our tongues.
Words matter…..
I am so thankful to my friend for sharing her struggle with her friends on Facebook. We can all learn something powerful from it. Guard your lips; place a lock upon your tongue. Do not speak in anger or frustration. Carefully consider your words before speaking. An impossible task………but with God, all things are possible.
WORDS
They've made me feel like a prisoner
They've made me feel set free
They've made me feel like a criminal
Made me feel like a king
They've lifted my heart
To places I'd never been
And they've dragged me down
Back to where I began
Words can build you up
Words can break you down
Start a fire in your heart or
Put it out
Let my words be life
Let my words be truth
I don't wanna say a word
Unless it points the world back to You
You can heal the heartache
Speak over the fear
(Speak over the fear)
God, Your voice is the only thing
We need to hear
(We need to hear)
Words can build us up
Words can break us down
Start a fire in our hearts or
Put it out
Let my words be life
Let my words be truth
I don't wanna say a word
Unless it points the world back to You
(Back to You)
Let the words I say
(Let the words I say)
Be the sound of Your grace
(Sound like Your grace)
I don't wanna say a word
Unless it points the world back to You
I wanna speak Your love
Not just another noise
Oh, I wanna be Your light
I wanna be Your voice
Let my words be life
Let my words be truth
I don't wanna say a word
Unless it points the world back to You
(Back to You)
Let the words I say
(Let the words I say)
Be the sound of Your grace
(Sound like Your grace)
I don't wanna say a word
Unless it points the world back to You
(Back to You)
Words can build us up
Words can break us down
Start a fire in our hearts
Or put it out
I don't wanna say a word
Unless it points the world back to You