Words, Words, Words

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” ~Ephesians 4:29

My father had a stellar academic career in which he excelled as a student, athlete and leader. During my father’s sophomore year in college at the University of Missouri, a senior student named George Ashley applied for an internationally known, highly competitive scholarship. Ashley made it to the final round but was turned down. Two years later, my father applied for the same scholarship and was accepted. This was a tremendous accomplishment for my father and reflected well on the university.

Soon afterwards, my father attended an event where many of the university’s faculty and administrators were present. One would think they would have been overjoyed at his success. Instead, the Dean said to him, “I never thought you would make it when [George] Ashley didn’t.”

My father used the scholarship studies to launch a forty-year long legal career that most lawyers can only dream of: among other triumphs, he argued before the US Supreme Court and the World Court. He loved his work and was never someone who held onto anger or resentment. Even so, he never forgot the mean-spirited words the Dean said to him. Decades later, that cruel talk was still stuck in his memory.

(Now you can picture the impact of routine verbal aggression inflicted on a child by their older, stronger, or more powerful siblings.)

When we think of abuse, too often we only think of physical harm. How easily we overlook the power of our words, both to cause harm and to encourage. Let us resolve to use our talk to help build others up.