Speak Life

Happy middle of January!  Lately there is something that has been on my mind and, strangely enough, it has to do with the children's book Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (nerdy librarian side of me coming out...).  If you have read the book or seen the movie, you will know what it means to be a Silvertongue.  In the story, Silvertongues were very rare and powerful people. To be a Silvertongue meant that you had a very unique gift in which your words have special power.  Power to bring the written word to life.  For example...if the silvertongue were reading a story about a fire-breathing unicorn eating oats, you could be certain that when you turn around that is exactly what you would see.  As you can imagine, this gift could either be extremely useful, or extremely dangerous (depending on what story you were reading).  I personally wouldn't want to be around while a Silvertongue was reading anything by Stephen King...maybe something more like Karen Kingsbury?  Anyway...the point is, their words have power and there is no denying it.

I believe this story can easily be translated into our Christian walk (at least, it should).  As believers, I think we often forget the pure, raw power that our words can carry.  Every single thing that comes out of our mouth has the potential to encourage or tear down, to create or destroy.  In fact, the Bible is pretty clear on this topic.

• "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits."
  
  -Proverbs 18:21                   
• "But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.  For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."        
  
  -Matthew 12:36-37              
• "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."
  
  -Ephesians 4:29                    

The Apostles, with the help of the Holy Spirit, used their words to do AMAZING things.  Guess what?  We too have that same Spirit!  If only we would use our words as we have been commanded to in the New Testament, I am certain we would see a major change in our every day life.  The song Speak Life by Toby Mac has been a sort of anthem to me the past few weeks.  It says:

"So speak Life, speak Life.

To the deadest darkest night.

Speak life, speak Life.

When the sun won't shine and you don't know why.

Look into the eyes of the brokenhearted;

Watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope,

You speak love, you speak...life!"

WOW!  Another part of the song says "we can turn a heart with the words we say, mountains crumble with every syllable."  This is serious business.  Our words really do carry much more power than we realize, and we need to be speaking words that bring JOY, not sadness.  UNITY, not discord.  LIFE, not death.

In Africa, I encountered people who knew the power their words carried, because they see good and evil very tangibly in conflict with one another every day.  Witch doctors use their words to bid evil spirits to do their will, and it really does happen.  But I also saw confident sons and daughters of the King use their words to break through the darkness.  Let me give you an example.

The house I lived in on the missionary compound just so happened to be right next to the 10-foot wall surrounding the base.  And just on the other side of this wall was the witch doctor's house.  There were many nights when my housemates and I were kept awake by the loud rituals and chants of the people just on the other side of the wall.  One night in particular I was lying in bed, and the darkness coming from the witch doctor's house was so heavy that I was trembling with fear.  There was a lot of shouting and I could hear eerie music that sounded as evil as it really was.  Then I heard my house mom jump up out of bed and begin pacing around the house, praying for the Spirit of the Lord to break through the darkness.  She SPOKE LIFE into our house and I instantly felt the atmosphere change.  The fear that had gripped me before was suddenly gone, and I felt an overwhelming peace settle over our house.

The bottom line?  Our words have power.  I have made a commitment to God in the year of 2014 to only use my words to bring hope, love, and life into the different situations I find myself in and the people I come into contact with, and I would like to encourage y'all (I'm in Kentucky now...haha) to do the same.  Let's all dedicate ourselves to only building up those around us.

"Look into the eyes of the brokenhearted, watch 'em come alive as soon as you speak hope, you speak love, you speak life."

I found this picture on tribute.ca's website at
http://www.tribute.ca/galleries/inkheart/16231/ . I added the Bible verse.