Our Words Matter
Our words matter, but does the word, floccinaucinihilipilification, one of the longest words in the dictionary, really matter? I can’t say that I’ll ever use it in a talk, but it sure did bring me inspiration for today’s blog.
It came up randomly in a pop-up advertisement and intrigued me enough to look up its origin. Back in the 18th Century, Eton College had a grammar book which listed a set of Latin words which all meant “something of little or no value”. In order, those were flocci, nauci, nihili, and pili (which sound like four of the seven dwarves to me). “Fication” was tagged on at the end and now it means the “action or habit of estimating as worthless or no value.”
That, my friends, is a word that no one should ever speak over you because you and YOUR words have great worth and great value when they are especially God’s words flowing through you.
One of my pleasures is watching the TV show, Jeopardy. I record it so I can catch the newest winner that de-throned the previous winner. AND I watch it so I can glean from those questions and answers. I always want to be on a learning quest.
The truth is the words we speak matter! I’ve been given words of life and I pay attention to others to pay it forward and offer them words of life.
Dear friends of mine were going through some challenging times. I knew I needed to encourage them. I wanted to help them use the RIGHT words that would help produce a harvest of blessings instead of the words they were speaking: “We will NEVER get out of this mess!”
Oftentimes our words of negativity can be what digs up the seeds of faith and hope that we’ve planted. So, when the pressure comes, it is vitally important to use faith-filled words of hope and expectation like “We WILL get through this!”
I fall more and more in love with Jesus when I read the Bible. He noticed people who were overlooked — the rejected, the outcasts, the thirsty, the broken and the sick. He cared about them and often went out of His way to speak life into them.
Sometimes He would have detailed conversations with strangers like the Samaritan woman at the well. He gave her words of life. Because He did, she brought truth to her entire village. Many were saved because she received words of life and paid them forward. (John 4:1-42)
Our words may be the expression of God’s love that someone needs today. It doesn’t matter how much speaking experience we have had or how many Bible verses we know. What matters is if we are caring and sharing our own unique story of God’s amazing grace and how we made it through our own challenging situations.
We are positioned within our families, friends, and communities to offer something only we can. Let’s start today offering our voices. Let’s offer words of life to someone today. Let’s be life givers.
When we step out in faith and trust that God is speaking through us to others, lives change. Today, all we need to do is watch and listen for the right moment to use words of life to change a life! Let’s be LIFE changers today!