The Power of Word

Death and life are in the power of the tongue:

and they that love it  shall eat the fruit thereof. (Prov.18, 22)

Apostle James tells us about the terrible influence and power of a human tongue; that tiny body part, which actions are so great.

He warns us about dangerous consequences of an evil tongue, which burns and poisons everything around it; and the above proverb tells us that both life and death are in the power of a human word! When God was creating a man in His image, giving him immortal spirit of life, God raised him over wordless creatures by giving him mind and heart, for which expression God gave tongue – the weapon of word. Therefore, word is an expression of one’s soul; given to praise the Creator, to serve the truth! Nevertheless, tongue often, almost always, serves anger, lies, false witnessing and blasphemy; tongue makes wounds, starts wars, kills worse than a sharp sword and poisons worse than the most poisonous venom. Tongue works like a secret enemy, from behind the corner, unnoticed; it is hard to reject it, hard to fix the damage done; it is often hard or almost impossible to find the source of evil, cruel word and figure out where it came from.

How much evil and suffering, worse than a bodily death, were made by tongue! This all is impossible to measure. Deadly fruits as if go into eternity. Especially harmful and terrible is a word of disbelief, a word of immorality, unclean one, which is reflected in a sensitive soul of a child! Such kind of word kills the most dear, the most beautiful in life, the good seed of God at the very root, demolishes blooming flower, darkens the bright dawn of a young soul! Often in a burst of anger and irritation, under influence of a doubt or a personal disappointment, not thinking, without a bad intention we say something in a presence of a child that would express the condition of our soul. We will pass by and forget about this, but sensitive young soul will remember and accept that godless, evil, cold word and get poisoned by its venom.

Especially hard to see this evil flourish and develop among the people, who carry the name of Christ and calling themselves brothers. Not only by an evil word, but also by cold, silence listening to the evil talking of others, we sin against one another. So truly, as it is said by Solomon, death is within the power of tongue, and the God’s commandment “do not kill”, first of all refers to our tongue!

Oh if we only could tame our word and, what is even better, change our hearts, - then our tongue would become a weapon of life, the power of life-giving love! Sweet spring will not give bad water – and the heart, where God abides, will not produce a single evil word, but it will praise God instead and say words of love to the neighbor.

Let us encourage and cheer up one another with the words of sincere compliment; bring joy by the words of kindness; soften sufferings by the words of sympathy; fire up the hearts by the words of faith and enlighten all of our life around and inside us with the words of blessings and praise! Lord! Change our hearts,  revive them and make them a source of love and kindness and make our tongue into a weapon of glory of God and eternal truth!

(Translated by Tatiana Rozzell from “Every Day is a Gift from God. Diaries of an Orthodox Priest”, author unknown)