The power of our words......

This week's Torah portions contained several mentions on the power of our words. It talked about how the Israelites took the words of the 10 spies who didn't think YHVH was big enough to clear out the 'giants' in the Promised Land.(Deut. 1) And then in Isaiah, it talked about how YHVH was so angry with the children of Israel that He was turning His back on them. That they refused to "come now, let us talk this over together." (Isaiah 1:10a) These were both kinda sad commentaries on the children of Israel and their faith in their Papa. Then we read Acts 1-2, and there's further talking about talking....and the words people use, even speaking languages they don't know. And then it hit me!

We all tend to think of our words as no big deal. They're just little puffs of air that are gone as soon as we say them. But these words spoken so many years ago were written down and we get to read them now....several hundred years later!!! So perhaps our words are more important than we think. Well, I stewed on that idea for a bit, then got a book I'd ordered for us to read as a family. It's called Positive Word Power..The Torah's Wisdom on Human Interaction for daily study. As we read the first study in there, guess what it was about...you got it. The power of our words! So now I realized I was on the right track about the Torah portion for this past week....

Well, this book presented an idea I found fascinating and more than scary at  the same time. It proposed that since Adam was brought to live by the breathe of Yah, we all have a breathe of Yah in us. And each word we speak uses a little of that breath, sending His breathe out into the world around us. That means the words we speak have the power of either life or death in them. Whew! That's scary! So as Dodi and I tried to explain this  a little more to Little Critter, I came up with an analogy that helped he and I both understand it better. I told him it was like our words are bricks. Each time we speak to someone, we have to think....am I saying something that will bury that person under these bricks? Or will my words serve to build a protective wall for them to help stop the harsh, unthinking words of myself and others? And which words would you want to be known for? Does that make sense? It did to Little Critter. He understood what we were getting at. Now, I'm not saying Little Critter buries folks with his cruel, harsh words. But it's something we all need to work on. There's far more times than I want to even think about that I'm tired, not feeling well, or stressed that I'm sure I buried my loved ones under the bricks of my words...with their sharpness, or impatience, or out and out meanness. sigh..... But now, like the disciples in Acts 1 &2, I know the power of my words. I know now how much I need to lean on Papa for wisdom to know when to speak and when to stay silent. So I can attempt to unbury those I've hurt with my words, and attempt with His help to not make the same mistakes again. In this way, even I can help make the world a better place...one word at a time.

So as you think about what I've written, may my words be balm to your souls, healing to your wounds, and a path to help you on your journey through this life. Shalom.