The Power of Words

Have you ever thought about how many words you say in a day? On average, researchers say we speak between 7,000 and 20,000 words daily. If we use 7,000 words, that’s about 47 minutes of talking time. A single careless word can ruin someone’s day, while one kind phrase might completely change someone’s life. Our words are that powerful!

Someone once said, ‘In every community, there are only those who have been hurt.’ This deeply resonated with me. We’ve all been hurt by others, and we’ve all hurt others too. But often, we only see our own pain and forget that we may have hurt others.

Let me share an interesting experiment with you. A few years ago, while waiting for acupuncture treatment, I noticed a book on the table titled The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto. Dr. Emoto conducted an interesting experiment in this book to show that words can affect water. He exposed water to positive words and negative words, then froze it and observed the crystals under a microscope. What he found was amazing. Water exposed to positive words like ‘love’ and ‘thank you’ formed beautiful and multipart crystals, but water exposed to negative words like ‘hate’ and ‘disgust’ formed ugly and chaotic patterns.

Whether you believe in this experiment or not, it makes us think on the impact of words. Words hold the power to shape, influence, and transform our surroundings. If words can affect something as simple as water, imagine how they impact on us.

The Epistle of James was written to Jewish Christians, and in it, James speaks strongly about the power of words. In James 3, we read: “We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you’d have a perfect person, in perfect control of life. A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds.” (The Message, MSG)

James gives us three powerful images: First, our words are like a bit in a horse’s mouth—they guide and control our actions. Second, they’re like a ship’s rudder—small, yet controlling our life’s direction. Finally, he compares words to a tiny spark that can start a huge fire- reminding us how a few careless words can cause untold harm.

James ends by saying it’s not right for both good and bad words to come from the same mouth. He says it’s like a spring that should not produce both fresh and bitter water. How often do our words show this contradiction? We praise God in one moment, then hurt others with our words the next.

Even Peter, one of Jesus’ closest friends, faced this struggle. When Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say I am?” Peter boldly said, “You are the Christ, the Messiah.” What a great answer! But soon after, when Jesus began speaking about His coming suffering, rejection, death and resurrection, Peter argued with Him. Jesus had to correct Peter sharply, saying, “Get behind me, Satan!” Peter’s words went from absolutely right to completely wrong in a short time. This moment with Peter shows us how easily our words and hearts can fall out of alignment 얼라인먼트. Like James’ metaphor of a spring that produces both fresh and bitter water, Peter’s words reflected both profound faith and misunderstanding.

The Call to ‘Good Gossip’: Let us talk about a word we all know well: gossip. Most of us think of gossip is bad—spreading rumours or talking behind people’s backs.  But did you know that ‘gossip’ used to mean something very different and good?

The word ‘gossip’ comes from the Old English ‘god-sibb’.  God meant well God and ‘sibb’ meant family or sibling. So, ‘god-sibb’ meant the sibling in God someone who’s your brother or sister in faith. At that time, when someone was baptised, a godparent was called a “god-sib” or “gossip.” This person acted as a spiritual sponsor, meaning they would support the faith journey of the baptismal candidate. So originally, ‘gossip’ wasn’t about spreading rumours. It was about the deep, meaningful conversations between fellow believers. It was about lifting each other up and helping one another grow in faith.

So, what does all this mean for us today? How can we practice ‘right speech’ as Christians? When we talk about right speech, we don’t mean just saying nice things to earn points in heaven or offering empty lip service. We mean using our words to build a safe and healthy community, just as all the commandments and prophets taught. St. Margaret’s is a gathering of people who listen to God’s voice with love and are willing to speak the truth in diverse situations.

Therefore, without sharing stories about each other and ourselves, we cannot truly know one another. In other words, if we don’t gossip, we won’t learn each other’s histories, form deep relationships, forgive each other’s weaknesses, or learn how to love. Good gossip for us is the glue that binds us together as brothers and sisters in God. Good gossip helps us love one another. It will develop our sense of solidarity and shared identity as we learn to find God’s fingerprints in our lives together and speak these truths in a broader context.

So I invite you to be good gossipers, God-siblings, brothers and sisters in God. Be people who tell stories about themselves and each other. Be those who prayerfully and deeply consider each other’s lives. Be those who look for God’s presence and action in each of our lives and in our common life. Be those who listen with love. And as we tell and retell each other’s stories, pondering how they are intertwined with and reflect the greatest story, our gossip will gradually transform into God-talk, God-story, gospel-talk.

We are the body of Christ, and His Spirit is with us, so this story must be lived and told in all times and places. And this story is never embodied in an ideal group of perfect people, but always in an ordinary group of wounded, ordinary people walking together through ordinary lives filled with God. So let us gossip well together and bear witness with our lives and words to the most powerful and prophetic truth: that Christ’s reign has come, here and now, even among us. Amen.