This March is Grandparents month, and we want to celebrate everyone in our Grandparents generation who have been such a blessing to my generation and the generations to follow. To everyone in our Grandparents generation–we appreciate all that you’ve done and continue to do, and the important role you play in our lives and in the life of our church. Thank you!
We were blessed to hear from Pastor Anita this week, who reminded us about the power of words. In the creation story in Genesis 1 we see creation take place through the use of words. God speaks the light, the sky, the land, and created order into being. We also know about the power of words from our own relationships. What we say to each other and how we communicate has the power to be healing or harmful, and the power to create a healthy environment or a poor one.
Pastor Anita reminded us to mind our words carefully for three reasons. First, words can be powerful. The pastoral team is currently going through a study called Core Identity, a teaching about aligning our sense of who we are with what God is saying. What we say and believe about ourselves is a major part of our sense of identity, and these kinds of words and beliefs have power.
Second, words have lasting impact. I’ve definitely found this to be true as a parent. How we communicate with our kids and the things that we say shape their sense of who they are and their place in the world. Our words as parents have a lasting impact on our kids, which is all the more reason to pay attention to our words. Lastly, words cannot be retrieved. I’m sure we’ve all had disagreements with loved ones where we may have said something we wish we hadn’t. Thinking carefully about our words before we say them can help us to be more thoughtful and careful people.
Near the end of her message, Pastor Anita mentioned that as she was praying about the power of words and what to share, this is what came to mind: “I want my people to use words to bless, build up, and love one another.” God’s intention for our lives is that we would have relationships that are life-giving and where we build one another up. There is a statistic that as much as 80% of our thoughts are negative. But this doesn’t mean that what comes out of our mouth and the words we speak need to be negative all the time. By minding our words and being careful of what we say, we can use the power of words to bless, build up, and love others.
God, I pray that we would be people who speak words of life and truth to one another as we build each other up in faith and in love for you and others. May your words always be on our minds and our hearts, and as we speak to one another may it be your words and from your heart. May we be a blessing to those around us near and far. In Jesus’s name, amen.