The Power of Words - The Word is Jesus

There is no question that words are important to God. In John 1:1, Jesus is referred to as “the Word”. Back up to Genesis 1 and we find that all God had to do was speak…”God said”…and things happened. God created light and water and sky and land and on and on just by saying words!

Maybe we can’t just speak and create an ocean, but our words do have the power to create. When we greet someone with a “how are you today?” or “you look nice” or just a simple “hello” we can change the tone of someone’s day. Throw in a “how’s your mom?” or “is there anything I can do” or a “let’s do lunch” and you’ve created intimacy and friendship.

Of course we all know the power of negative words. Throw out a “You’re wearing that!” “You’re so stupid.” “You never do anything right.” And you’ve created depression, anxiety and anger.

I spend time with a certain teenage boy who picks on his little sister a lot. She falls down, gets hurt and cries and his response is “You’re such a baby. You always cry.” She gets an “A” on a test and he says “So? It’s easy. It’s 3rd grade. Anybody can do that.”

With his almost-a-swear-word lingo he uses when I’m around (and you know it’s got to be much worse when adults are not around), any one sentence from this boy can bring you down. And then, one day, out of the blue, I made him laugh when without thought, but with heaven sent humor, I responded, “Just tell me how you really feel.” And oh that laugh, that smile of his. It was so bright, so genuine, and so brief.

That got me to thinking, what are the words in this boy’s head? The words to himself. I’ll bet, in his head, he pulls himself down lower than low. Lower than he’s ever managed to pull his little sister down. Lower than he’s ever managed to pull me down. Lower than anyone has ever managed to pull him down. That bravado of his is masking his lack of confidence.

And so I have a goal, to use my words to call him on it when his words are negative and mean, but also to use my words to try to replace the negatives in his head with something more positive. What I am hoping to show him is love. Even when he’s unlovable.

Hold him accountable, yes.

Have consequences for his actions, definitely.

Be consistent, it’s the only way.

Continue to show this boy what love looks like, even when he’s…difficult. <Deep breath> Sign me up.

Word!