A bible from 1859. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As Cher sang, “words are like weapons, they wound sometimes.” [1] We can hurt or help with our words, as well as our actions. All of us have been in situations where, in the heat of the moment, we have said things we do not mean, things calculated to wound, to harm the person we have said them to. Most of us have experienced the pain of hearing horrible things said about ourselves, just or unjust, and have gone on our way with the realisation that other people do not view us as highly as we thought.

The way my bipolar disorder is set off often involves the words of others. I am a perfectionist, and if, when I am working, I do not feel I have done a good job, if I feel that I have let others down, if I feel that I have disappointed my boss, I start to feel anxious. If my boss criticises me, I turn that into a cacophony of hatred for myself, and if I am criticised without cause, I still obsess over my faults. In my last job I was bullied by my manager, who often told me I was useless at my job, that I was doing everything wrong, that I was not good enough; as a result I became very anxious, very stressed because I tried to be absolutely perfect, and in time became very depressed. I have always been unable to take criticism lightly, because I care very much about what other people think of me, and about whether I am doing a good job.

I, too, have criticised others without good cause, I too have hurt others. While I do not think I have bullied anyone, I have certainly said things that I should not have said. I should know better, because of the way words can harm me, and linger in my consciousness far longer than they should. As a Christian, I certainly should know better. The Bible talks quite frequently about the power of the tongue, and gives some guidelines as to what we should use it for.

This is an article about words, specifically how words have tremendous power; power to harm, and power to heal and affirm. Written by Emma from Believer’s Brain, this article is well worth reading.

To finish reading this article, please head over to http://believersbrain.com/2012/11/24/words-matter/ There are many other articles with good insights on Emma’s site, let her know something she wrote blessed you.