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Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins
Words: Power & Potential
In Ecclesiastes 3:7 Solomon wrote:
“To every thing there is a season... A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.”
Most of us have had to “eat some words” that were spoken in a hasty way, without thinking. Embarrassing is not strong enough to describe such times, and we should learn from them.
Words are powerful tools, able to help or hinder, to encourage or to dismay. World events have been shaped by words. People’s reputations have been enhanced or ruined by words.
As a youngster I recall being entranced by the words of Adolf Hitler on the screen of the New Isis Theater in the Stockyards area of Fort Worth. While I could not understand the words, I understood the message. His enthusiasm became contagious, capturing the minds of almost an entire nation of people.
Even today, the documentaries of his life reveal the hatred, the power and control he retained over an entire continent for over a decade. Political campaigns, news stories, books, e-mails and magazines can be seen as instruments of men to sway the thinking of a nation. Yes,
words have power and potential.
Words Can Incite to Riot
More than once in this young century have we seen crowds of people brought to violence and destruction because of a person’s ability to choose his/her words. It was Absalom’s words that brought many to rebellion against David, 2 Samuel 15:1-6. By words a mob sought to kill the Apostle Paul, Acts 21-23. How careful we must be in our use of words, careful that we use them for good, not for evil.
Words Can Identify Us
What we say and how we say it can identify us as wise or foolish, kind or harsh, thoughtful or cruel.
“Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few…a fool's voice is known by multitude of words,” Ecclesiastes 5:2-3.
Mark Twain once wrote, “Better to be silent and thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.” His words sound a lot like Proverbs 17:27-28. Words can be kind or vicious, peaceable or vengeful, helpful or a hindrance. How do your words identify you?
Words Can Soothe or Calm Us
In a time of strife, whether of war or calamity, words can bring us a calm that aids us in thinking or acting. Lincoln’s words had a soothing effect on a nation in a civil war. FDR’s “fireside chats” and Churchill’s speeches before Parliament brought a resolve that allowed wisdom to rule those days of trouble. We can, by our words, bring peace or despair. Why not try soothing words!
Words Can Confuse or Divide
In 1 Corinthians 14:8, Paul tells of the confusion caused by the bugler’s “uncertain sound.” If the cavalry hear the wrong notes, they may take the wrong action.
Some intentionally choose words that are deceptive, Ephesians 5:6, while others “sow discord among brethren” by such words, Proverbs 6:17-19. “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver,” Proverbs 25:11.
Words Can Help or Harm
Rudyard Kipling wrote, “Words are the most powerful drug used by mankind.” And—just as some drugs—they can help or harm. The churches in Galatia were warned of “biting and devouring one another,” Galatians 5:15. Both slander and gossip will always be troublesome.
But some can be helpful, such as the words of Nathan to David and Paul to Timothy (see 2 Samuel 12 and 1 Timothy 4:12). How about your words? Harmful? or helpful?
Words Can Save
The last words Jesus uttered before ascending to heaven were,
“All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen,” Matthew 28:18-20.
When Simon Peter was sent to the house of Cornelius, he brought him “words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved,” Acts 11:14. Titus was told to “speak words that befit sound doctrine,” Titus 2:1. When we tell the good news of Jesus to others, we are giving a gift that will always be a blessing. Words: they can be a blessing or a curse, depending on our attitude and our choice of words.
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“Silence is not always a sign of wisdom, but babbling is ever a mark of folly.”
“Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words can break our heart.”
“Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding,”
“By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned,”
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Majority Rules
There once were four preachers who had a series of theological arguments, and three were always in agreement against the fourth. One day, the odd preacher out, after the usual “3 to 1, majority rules” statement that signified that he lost again, decided to appeal to a higher authority.
“Oh, God!” he cried. “I know in my heart that I am right and they are wrong! Please give me a sign to prove it to them!”
It was a beautiful, sunny day. As soon as the preacher finished his prayer, a storm cloud moved across the sky above the four. It rumbled once and dissolved. “A sign from God! See, I’m right, I knew it!” But the other three disagreed, pointing out that storms clouds form on hot days.
So the preacher prayed again, “Oh, God, I need a bigger sign to show that I am right and they are wrong. So please, God, a bigger sign!” This time four storm clouds appeared, rushed toward each other to form one big cloud, and a bolt of lightning slammed into a tree on a nearby hill.
“I told you I was right!” cried the preacher, but his friends insisted that nothing had happened that could not be explained by natural causes.
The preacher was getting ready to ask for a “very big” sign, but just as he said, “Oh, God…….” the sky turned pitch black, the earth shook, and a deep, booming voice said, “HEEEEEEES RIIIIIIIGHT!”
The preacher put his hands on his hips, turned to the other three, and said, “Well?”
“So,” shrugged one of the other preachers, “now its 3 to 2.”
OK, so it’s just a funny story, but the attitude is a serious problem in our society today. Most people would never admit it, but we often put God’s Word on the same level as man’s word. Folks, this should not be. A vote does not determine what we do in religion, the majority does not decide; the preacher does not decide; the elders do not decide; God does! His word is our ONLY authority (Matthew 28:18; Ephesians 1:22-23; Hebrews 1:1-2), and it is that by which we will be judged (John 12:48-50). God does not care if “I don’t see anything wrong with it,” or “We’ve always done it this way,” or “Everyone agrees with me,” or “The Bible doesn’t say we can’t…!” He’s given us everything we need in His Word (2 Peter 1:3), and we have no right to add to it, subtract from it or change it in any way (Galatians 1:6-9; Revelation 22:18-19).
Friends, let do Bible things in Bible ways.
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