Life Meets Faith: Words - use with care

The King's Speech is a movie that, among other things, highlights the power of words. We all know that power. If someone has ever praised you in public for something you truly accomplished, you probably know the power of the spoken word to make you confident and strong.

On the other hand, if you have ever been the butt of a public verbal put-down, you know that words can have a powerful sting. Some of us never lose the strength our parents gave us through their words. Others of us seem to never completely shake the fear or anger we experienced when words were used to intimidate or bully us.

The power of words is front and centre in the first pages of the Christian Bible. God speaks like a great monarch and things come into existence. He deliberates with the others in his court — "let us make ..." (an illustration I think, not to be taken literally). He speaks with the first people.

The people themselves speak with God and with each other. Just as God had named day, night, land and sea, Adam names the animals. A satanic presence also intrudes using many words, questioning the word of God, and offering his word as an alternative. Even when those humans choose evil, God provides hope, again, through words.

In these pages, the word does a lot. It brings the world into existence. The summons to cooperate with evil comes through words. The human future as a future of hope is assured through words.

Our own words might not carry as much weight, but they are still able to change much. About the only thing the protestors against Muammar Gaddafi have - in the absence of tanks and fighter planes - is words. And in the end it will be words that, more than anything else, bring him down. Even if he does not give up power (he hasn't at the time of this writing), he will go down in infamy, denounced by his victims, worded into oblivion.

Our day-to-day conversations, our words, may seem less important, but they are powerful nonetheless. A put down behind the back of a fellow student or colleague can poison the atmosphere. It can set in motion a host of dark consequences. It can help push a struggling person into a maze of anger and depression.

On the other hand, speaking well of others, especially when they are not present, can help unleash a range of good. Her reputation will come back to encourage her, and others will help her to succeed.

Words are what communicate hatred and fear, prejudice and loathing. But they are also the midwives that birth love, respect, dignity and justice.

Our world is awash in media, vehicles for words. Emails, text messages, tweets, music, ebooks and paperbacks, podcasts, voicemail. We take words for granted. They are abundant, quick and dirty. Easy to type and effortless to delete. Their proliferation can make them seem a nuisance, meaningless, easily ignored and of little or no consequence.

But words have enormous consequences. What words did Hitler hear as a little boy? What words did Bono hear? I guarantee you that they did not hear the same words. The way we use words can make all the difference in the world to our parents, children, friends, instructors and students. To the future of this planet, our home and its inhabitants. I think that God means for them to be used with some care.

Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.