Words

Shalom!

I have been grieving these last hours...deeply troubled in my soul...wounded by words that were exclaimed in harshness...anger...disrespect...and I have been wondering how to, once again, move past these wounding words...

Perhaps many of you have experienced the same emotional drain that befalls me when this type of verbal assault is launched...by friends...loved ones...fellow workers...whoever opens their mouth to bring this hurt and deep pain...

There are many types of woundings that occur with verbal assaults/outbursts...you happen to be in the line of fire of someone launching this type of attack on another and you become embarrassed for the one being attacked...and embarrassed for the one launching the attack...you are the one the attack is being directed at and you recoil inwardly at the embarrassment you feel for being so chastised...wishing you could be anywhere other than where you are at the time of the attack...in all cases, your heart, mind and soul are wounded by the words used to criticize you...

It takes a long time to recover from these verbal attacks...and each time they occur, especially if they are repeated over many years, the damage done eats away...bit by bit...at the borders of the relationship involved...

There are so many Scriptural references to words that wound...time after time the Word of G-d warns that there are consequences to how we talk...how we think...how we react to various situations...even the World has slogans that capture the damage and try to turn the wounding back onto the one attacking...do you remember hearing "sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me...a self-defense mechanism that little children used to say when called "names" by their peers...

As we grow older, we know that sticks and stones DO break our bones...AND we learn that WORDS DO HURT US...

Unfortunately there have been times that MY words have done the wounding...have hurt friends, co-workers, family members...I stop to think about that when I have been deeply wounded...and I am ashamed of myself and the times...too many times...that I have been guilty of this type of attack on another...

There is a tremendous study I have began doing several months ago on The Names of G-d...I have several wonderful books on His Names and the meaning of each Name He Is Called...those are the Words I want to convey with my life's walk...those are the characteristics that I want to be remembered for while alive and when gone...I want to stand and raise my arms to Him to Whom All Glory Is Due and sing with all my heart to Him Who Sits On The Throne...using WORDS that bring praise and honor and glory to HIM...and the Words I want to hear when I see Him on the Other Side are "Well done, good and faithful servant...enter into what has been prepared for you from the beginning of the Ages"...

Mishlei/Proverbs 18:21 teaches that "death and life are in the power of the tongue"...Mishlei 12:18 and 15:4 that "words are used to wound or heal the spirit"...Mishlei 18:8 and 29:5 that words "shape our attitudes"...Mishlei 16:27/28 that our words are a "scorching fire"...

The Brit Hadasah records for us in Yochanan 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with G-d and the Word was G-d!" Words are the primary units of language that enable humans to communicate with each other. In the same way, Yochanan teaches us that Yeshua was the Word that was with G-d from the beginning...and that He reveals the Will and Mind of G-d the Father to we on His Earth.

Also in 1 Yochanan 5:7 we are told that "There are three that bear witness in Heaven...the Father, the Word and the Ruach HaKodesh: and these three are One." Yochanan believed that Yeshua was the Word...the Second Person of the Triune Essence of G-d. He also teaches us in the book of Revelation that the Word - Yeshua - is victorious over all His enemies at the End of Days..."He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood...and His Name is The Word of G-d!" (Revelation 19:13).

When asked by a young Jewish Leader what was the most important Mitzvot/Commandment, Yeshua replied "Shema Yisrael! Adonai Eloheinu! Adonai Echad!" - "You are to love Adonai your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. This is the greatest and most important Mitzvot. And a second is similar to it: "You are love your neighbor as yourself." All of the Torah and Prophets are dependent upon these two Mitzvot." (Mattityahu/Matthew 22:34-40)

Loving G-d! Loving Each Other! Let's choose our words carefully...someday they will be the last ones we speak!