At a Loss for Words
Have you ever been at a loss for words? There have been a few times in my life when that has been the case. I know that’s shocking to some of you reading this, because most of the time I have too many words to say!
When I was little and living at home, my parents used to tell me that I talked too much…and I probably did. In high school, one of my favorite classes was speech (imagine that) and I went on to major in communication in college and began my career teaching, of all things, basic speech to high school students.
Over the course of my life I have spoken hundreds of times at ladies’ days, lectureships, girls’ classes at youth rallies, ladies’ Bible classes, teenage girls’ classes, etc. I have spoken millions of words. I’m sure there have been times when I have misspoken, mispronounced, and messed up.
However, every two weeks I need to come up with words to put in this blog post. I have been at a loss for words, and so I began to think about the importance of words. Let me share a few of my thoughts:
- Words are powerful. We communicate in many different ways – facial expressions, body language, silence, tone of voice, etc. – but we use words most of the time to get our point across to someone who is listening. The wise man Solomon said, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver” (Prov. 25:11). The words that we use can make or break almost any situation. The use of words (or the lack of words) has started wars and ended wars. The use of certain words has caused marriage to be beautiful, or has caused the marriage to end. There is power in what we allow to come from our mouths.
- Words taste a certain way. I’ve used bitter words before and I’ve used sweet words before. I’m sure you all know what I’m talking about. Sometimes situations cause us to use words and a tone of voice that leaves us with a certain taste in our mouths. Paul put it in such a beautiful way as he instructed the Colossian brethren, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (Col. 4:6). Would the words that come out of your mouth taste sour, sweet, bitter, salty, or bland to those who hear them?
- Words can create pictures in the mind of the listener. When teaching my students to speak, I often would tell them to draw a picture with their words. I meant for them to create a picture in the mind of the listeners. The more clearly they presented that picture the more interested the listeners would be. It is important to remember that the picture you create needs to be true and not just a fabrication of something you think the listener will want to hear. When I read II Kings 18 about the reign of Hezekiah and the Assyrian attacks, I read about the leader of an army who was able to instill fear in the people of Judah by painting a picture of their invasion. Words can paint fear or words can paint safety.
- The origin of your words will determine your destiny. Jesus himself said, “…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt. 12:34-37). This passage has always caused me to be fearful when I examine the words that come out of my mouth. Sometimes they’re silly or useless. Sometimes they’re meant to impress. Sometimes they are of no value. Sometimes they are good and useful to help others.
I’m sure you could think of other points to make concerning our words, but I hope this will spur you on to more study of this very important topic. This is a blog post that will hopefully help all of us to be at a loss for words when they are hurtful or unnecessary, but full of good words when they will help others.
Oh, be careful little mouth what you say,
Oh, be careful little mouth what you say,
For the Father up above is looking down in love,
So, be careful little mouth what you say.
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AUTHOR: Donna Faughn
