Daily Thought for Wednesday, February 9th

February 9, 2011

Words

Today’s Thought:

“Thanks to words, we have been able to rise above the brutes; and thanks to words, we have often sunk to the level of the demons.” – Aldous Huxley

Today’s Question

Did you know that while sticks and stone can break your bones; words have the power to hurt you?

Today’s Spiritual Thought:

‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty

 said in a scornful tone, ‘it means just

 what I choose it to mean – neither

 more nor less.’

‘The question is,’ said Alice,

‘whether you can make words mean

 so many different things.’

‘The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty,

‘which is to be the maser – that is all.’

                                                                   Lewis Carrol, Through the Looking Glass

When it comes to words, sometimes the old adage that “less is more” can be apropos.

Ye for those of us who find our bread and butter in words be it speaking or writing, this is a difficult concept to embrace.

We like to live by the credo that, man cannot live by bread alone – he needs words.  Of course scripture says he must live by the words that proceed from the mouth of God not so much so by the pen or mouth of men.

Yet words are essential to communication and communication is imperative to relationships and by this means we must adjust and adapt at cohabitating and getting along together on this sphere we call Earth.

But we need to remember to choose our words carefully.

It is indeed important to heed that childhood admonition to think before we speak.

Often the words we speak far outlast the moment in which we speak them.

That is why we should speak carefully, cautiously and with consideration to the meaning and implication of what we are saying.

Probably, all of us, have been told at some point in our life, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”

Maybe we should alter that just a bit and say rather, “If you can’t say something Godly, worthy of praise or effective for growth and nurturing, maybe it is best to remain silent.”

Today’s Verses:

The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.  A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him?

Ecclesiastes 10:12-14

Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.   

        Proverbs 18:21

As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.

                    Isaiah 59:21

Today’s Prayer:

Father, may my words, though they may not be few, always be for or about You; effective in helping others grow in faith and aiding them in drawing nearer Lord to You.