Words are the most powerful tool you have as a human

When I was interning for WREG in Memphis as a senior at Auburn in 2006, I was interviewing then Memphis football coach Tommy West. I had one of those moments you see on TV when a coach goes on a rant. I was asking a series of questions that my sports director had told me to ask about the Tigers season thus far. Memphis was not having a good year. They only won two games that season. However, the upcoming game was expected to be a win against a lesser opponent. One of the questions I asked was something along the lines of, "do you expect to get some quality minutes for your backups to get some experience?" Mr. West did not like this question and proceeded to put me in my place. To summarize his response, he said, "hey stupid intern, we aren't worried about getting experience, we are just trying to win a game," (his words were much more colorful than mine).

I learned a lesson about words that day. The words I used elicited a very negative response. His words hurt. This incident reminds me of Proverbs 12:18, "the words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."

This story was part of our lesson on words today at Madison Academy as I was filling in as a substitute bible teacher. Sometimes we take for granted just how powerful our words can be. Consider the following quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne:

 

I think about Hitler and how he stirred the masses to great evil with his words. Martin Luther King had a huge impact on the Civil Rights Movement with his words. 

Words stir emotion and can leave a lasting impact. Check out James 3:

³ If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. ⁴ Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. ⁵ So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! ⁶ And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. ⁷ For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, ⁸ but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. ¹⁰ From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. ¹¹ Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? ¹² Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Take responsibility for your words and choose wisely. You only have a certain number of words to share in a given situation and they are your most powerful tool.