As my wife and I were talking about a difficult situation at hand, she shared her opinion, and in an instant the answer became clear to me. Her words of truth illuminated the reality and clearly distinguished the truth from the lie. I realized afresh the power of the words that we speak. Oliver Wendeel Holmes said the following: “Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall.” The words that we speak have a tremendous impact upon the lives of people we interact with.
The Power of Words
My words to my team will either bring motivation, encouragement and forward action, or they will frustrate, discourage and kill the passion. Richard Kadrey was correct when he said: “It doesn’t matter if you and everyone else in the room are thinking it. You don’t say the words. Words are weapons. They blast big … holes in the world. And words are bricks. Say something out loud and it starts turning solid. Say it loud enough and it becomes a wall you can’t get through.”
Throughout history words have indeed been used as bricks to build and as weapons to break down. Words have tremendous power. My challenge to you is to think carefully about the words that you are using. As you look over your family situation, as you consider your business, what words are you speaking? Are you speaking words that bring life or are you speaking words that bring death?
The Strength of Reason
A wise person knows that to tug at the heart of people and conquer them by strength of reason, is a more noble victory than that obtained by strength of arms. Those who are modest and promise little but deliver much will mostly prevail over those who place confidence in their own strength.
When reasoning, it is not talking learnedly but rather having a benevolent disposition of mind which will in most cases find favour with man. It is the charitable heart, not the voluble tongue, that manages to build relational bridges.
The Valley of Dry Bones
The story of the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37 illustrates the power of words as God spoke to the priest Ezekiel:
“The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.”
In each of our lives we have valleys of dry bones. These might be dreams that we have had but which seem to have died. Or these might be areas in which we once excelled in or saw life but where we now only see death. Maybe relationships have dried up and need a fresh breathe of life. I would encourage you to look at these dry bones and start to speak life over them. Trust God to breathe His spirit over these areas and bring life where there is death. In all of your activity always make a conscious effort to speak life.
About the Author: Dr Alan Louis is a third generation entrepreneur in a family with a 100-year business history. He devoted his life to Christianity as a child. Awarded a PhD in Commerce, is an Ultra Ironman Triathlete Gold medallist and was inducted in the IBC Hall of Fame for entrepreneurship. Internationally he has served on more than 100 private corporate boards, and has experienced the trials and successes of commerce for 3 decades.
