Words Matter

Before I get to that topic, I have a few "words" about the format of this blog. You may have noticed that it looks a little different. Blogger has changed it's template to something they consider "better" and "more current". I strongly disagree with them and am exploring other options. In the meantime, I apologize that there are no paragraph indentions or any of the other things that are normally part of my writing. I do know better! In the meantime, lets think about words. Because words do matter. I have always loved words, but since my stroke in 2016, they have taken on new importance for me. In these years of struggling to find the right word, of not being able to connect with the word I am trying to say, of not understanding the word I am being given...all these have given me a new appreciation for the power of words. Yet even as I value the power of words, I find myself these days shying away from many of the words I read and hear. We are bombarded these with words from ever direction. On radio and television. In social media. Everywhere we turn. And it seems our discourse is ever more full of rancor and hatred, of harshness and criticism. Whatever happened to good manners? Whatever happened to "common courtesy"? It is certainly no longer "common"! Whatever happened to respect? What has happened to us? Whatever happened to choosing our words carefully? Whatever happened to thinking before we speak? When did we decide that it was ok to say anything we please about anything or anyone without any regard to what is right or wrong? I have written before that there are days when I struggle to right these posts. That was true even before the stroke. Some days words come easily; some days, not so much. Even on the "not so much" days, perhaps especially on those days, I want to choose my words carefully, because words matter. Not just written words. All words. All words matter. It's a lesson we particular need in our public discourse these days! Consider, for example, good manners and words of respect. Please. Thank you. Yes, sir. No, ma'am. How we treat each other matters, and the words we choose are a reflection of that. In our increasingly discordant world, it's important to be respectful, even when we disagree. Especially when we disagree. Words matter. Words can encourage, or they can bring discouragement. It matters which we choose. We have, by the words we choose, the ability to lift someone up or to tear them down. And that ability carries across the spectrum of life. At home. In politics. In the workplace. In the classroom. At the mall. At the gym. Everywhere we go. As you are out and about today, doing life, encountering various individuals, choose your words carefully. Be respectful. Because words matter. "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver." Proverbs 25:11 ESV