The world was once empty. It had no shape, no features, no life. It was chaotic and dark and void. There was a deep chaotic water, swirling and churning with darkness and nothingness. This is the Earth at the start of Creation, the Earth we see in Genesis 1.
Then came words. Just a few, simple words, but filled with the creative power and the authority of Infinite God- “Let there be light.” Suddenly, hope and promise existed where once only darkness and chaos reigned. Soon after came more words- “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters” and suddenly where there had been only shapeless water was a sea and a sky.
More words- “….let the dry land appear,” and suddenly the world had a future! Now there was land and sea, which made room for more new things! “Vegetation” He said, and plants appeared all over the land. “Light to separate day from night” and the sun and moon simply existed, creating day and night, the seasons, and the concept of time!
Eventually came the best of God’s creative words- “Let us create man in our image,” and we came into being, people who would also share in God’s creative power of words.
God used His words to create life, time, existence as we know it. Think of it- simple words took chaos and emptiness and somehow by their speaking, formed everything we see, feel, and experience. What an incredible power these words have!
One of my favorite depictions of God defines Him by the creative power of His words- “the God…who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.” The book of John used the word “Word” as a name for Jesus- “The Word became flesh” John 1:14.
God seems to truly understand and value the power of words. When mankind became too arrogant and proud for our own good, and banded together at the Tower of Babel to try to overthrow God as the ultimate power, God used the power of words to show us how weak and frail we are. He gave mankind different languages, words we didn’t all understand, and suddenly a united humanity was confused, broken, and ultimately divided. (For the full story, see Genesis 11)
And words have divided us ever since! We don’t seem to grasp how powerful words really are. For example, think of a time in your life when you were deeply hurt, cut to the core of who you are, and I guarantee that it involved a powerful display of words. Our greatest fears and insecurities can often be traced to terrible words someone spoke to us.
Look at our world today. People are angry, afraid, and divided, and it seems to only get worse. There’s political tension, religious tension, racial tension, you name it, and it’s tense! Deep down, at the root of all of these problems, are words. Angry, resentful, untrusting, untrustworthy words. Terrible things said about all kinds of people have sown seeds of chaos, emptiness and darkness. I am convinced- the root of our nation's problems isn’t COVID-19, injustice, or bad politics. It is ugly, powerful, terrible words.
Our words do have creative power. Perhaps our words don’t have the power to bring a new species into existence, but our words still create all the time. They create love, fear, hope, pain, and joy every second of each day. Words inspire people to reach higher and dream bigger, and they also break people down and make them afraid to try. In short, WORDS HAVE POWER.
As a people who bear God’s image, our words do have power. We can use that power carelessly, like waving around a loaded gun, or we can chose to use that power responsibly. We can create life through our words, saying thing like “I believe in you!” or “we will get through this together!” or “There are more things that unite us than divide us.” If somebody rolls their eyes and tells you that you’re corny, remember that words have power, and double down on speaking words that create life, unity, and hope. The more we use our words for good, the more good there will be.
Maybe you think that sounds small and trite, but let me remind you of the people God has used to change the world. Few of them were incredibly talented or heroic. God’s Kingdom heroes don’t have superpowers. They just do a lot of little things right, and over time it creates a tidal wave of good.
So let’s be heroes. Let’s speak good words that change the world.