The Power of Words

“Yes the Führer decided that he would rule the world with words. ‘I will never fire a gun,’ he devised, ‘I will not have to.’ Still, he was not rash. Let’s allow him at least that much. He was not a stupid man at all. His first plan of attack was to plant the words in as many areas of his homeland as possible. He planted them day and night, and cultivated them. He watched them grow, until eventually, great forests of words had risen throughout Germany….It was a nation of farmed thoughts.” (The Book Thief by Markus Zusak)

Although this quote is talking about Hitler using words to rule Germany and then kill thousands of innocent people, it is a very powerful quote that does not just apply to Hitler. This quote is very deep, discussing how powerful words are. I bet you’ve heard your parents telling you to be careful of what you say. And if you’re old enough you know that words can kill. We seem to always underestimate the power of words.

We look at twenty-six different letters and we see how they have millions of combinations that create thoughts and ideas. Isn’t it amazing how that works? Twenty-six letters can kill someone. I bet you’ve heard this and it’s now cliché to you, but it’s so true. Take a look though, twenty-six letters can also give someone life. We tend to look at the negative impact of words more than we look at the positive impact of them. Just as Hitler used his words to convince people to create a “better” or “perfect” Germany by killing Jews, Martin Luther King Jr. used his words to promote equality in the United States.

Sometimes it is harder to use words for good, as it’s so much easier to yell an insult than a compliment. Maybe that’s why most people hear how words hurt not how words heal. But also, meaner words tend to become lodged deep in the heart while nicer words tend to bounce off. Why? How come a “you’re ugly” sticks more than a “you’re beautiful?” I honestly don’t know. What I do know is that God’s words stick. They tell us over and over again that we are saved and loved. He tells us not to be afraid. He tells us we are fearfully and wonderfully made. He tells us how perfect His creations are. It’s a lot easier to tell yourself to stop listening to the bad words than it is to actually ignore them. But we need to. We need to ignore the bad and accept the good. The Bible is the most read piece of literature in the world. Maybe Hitler used words to gain power and then to try to wipe out an entire race, but God uses words to display His power and to show how much we are loved.

Words hurt. That’s a known fact. An almost unknown fact is that words also heal. I used to believe that I was nothing until I had a real relationship with God. Now I know I’m cherished and loved. It still hurts sometimes when someone insults you, but I’ve got God who’ll tell me right after that those words are nothing and He loves me. Because it’s very hard to ignore the crap (excuse the word) that people sometimes throw at us, I’ll say instead: speak nice words. It is hard to give compliments or to just be nice in general but if we want others to start changing the ugly for the pretty, we need to do the same. I need to do the same. I’ll say things that I don’t necessarily mean, they just come out. I need to control my tongue. Today though, I resolve to try my best to say the nice things instead of the bad. If I want the world to change, I need to help change it. If you want the world to change, you have to help change it. If we want the world to change, we must help it to change. Hitler changed the world but so did Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesus Christ. We decide whether our words will hurt or heal. We have the choice to either change the world for good or for bad. Which will it be? And I know it’s not an easy journey but if we try our very best, we can do it. Let us aspire to be world changers through our words. Twenty-six letters, millions of combinations, millions of little ways to change the world.

Goodbye, until next time!