
Today I was reading the introduction of a book of contemporary liturgies, in which the author states his purpose and hope — that his efforts in writing would be more than mere ink on a series of pages, hidden and unread between a folded piece of faux leather, and shoved between other of its literary cousins on a shelf…gathering dust. Even more, he asked the Holy Spirit to use his words to stir the heart of the reader toward a deeper pursuit and experience of the living God. As a pastor, poetry and songwriter, blogger, journaler (word?), and sometime social media poster, I share the author’s aim and desire.
Words can have tremendous power, many coming with almost automatic mental & emotional associations. Here are a couple — what association first comes to mind? “Up” / “down”. (Got it?) “Hot”,___? Okay, a little harder: “Hamburger”, ____? Harder still “Love”,___? “Freedom”, ___? “Fire”, ___? “Purpose”, ___?
Okay, how’d you do? On a couple, most of us would have the exact same answer, on others, maybe not so much. Our word association / understanding, and our word usage may say a lot about our heart attitude, or state of mind. Words spoken can: bring joy &/or laughter; inspire, stir pleasant emotions or deeper thought; cause hurt, guilt, or confusion; incite anger; motivate to action; be strung together in prose, or with meter and rhyme, into poetry, which when married to the right music, can incite riots, inspire love, or heal broken hearts… “Death and life are in the power of the tongue… (Proverbs 18:21a). How is your word usage lately?
Answers to above words (probable, possible, & improbable but not impossible): Hot? - cold (“cayenne pepper” acceptable); Love? - hate, God/Jesus (also: “compassion”, “self-sacrifice”, “Jordan” (Green Bay Packers fans understand, though after their post-season fizzle, maybe not the first association that came to mind); Freedom? “America”, “forgiveness and salvation from sin through Christ” (also, for some, unrestrained self-determination); Fire? “Southern California” (current); Purpose? “Self-fulfillment”, “service”. Actually, how you answered the last one - “purpose” - will have a huge influence on the answer to most of these and other words…and may affect what you do with your words, in contexts like commenting on / speaking into those suffering devastation and loss (see: “fire” - “SoCal”, for instance), going through personal trials, political discussions, etc.
Point? Words have power. Use them thoughtfully, carefully, and well.
Oh — as for the word association for “hamburger”. The obvious answer would be In-N-Out (other possibilities might include “hotdog”, and, for the Wisconsinite and beyond, “Culver’s” may be acceptable…maybe 😊).
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