Our words move with the force of a wish, bestowing blessings or curses on the hearers.

Proverbs 18:21 imparts this nugget of wisdom:
 
²¹ The tongue has the power of life and death,
    and those who love it will eat its fruit.


    My mother was a blunt person.  In health, she was briskly honest but usually kind and positive.  When she became ill and oxygen-starved, she became abrupt and rather rude.  An inept nurse aid attempted to care for her one night, and Mom declared, "You will never come back here again.  I don't want you to ever come back."  The woman was quite upset.  On the way home, she wrecked her car and died. 

I don't know what part Mom's words had in her death;  I do know that only God holds the power of life and death.  But who knows whether the exchange discouraged the lady and caused her distraction on the way home? 

The old adage that

            "sticks and stones may break my bones,

             but names will never hurt me,"

is not found in the Bible. Our words affect those who hear them, whether we bless like the patriarchs, who spoke legacies to their children, or whether we call names and issue trash-talk.  Words have substance beyond sound waves in the air. 

     Consider the power of words: speeches by politicians have the power to twist or tame public thought.  Commercials induce us to desire things we never coveted previously.  A sermon can inspire us to seek God, to live tenaciously for another week, to stick with our marriages and become more proficient parents.  The words of a friend can comfort and soothe during the most tragic of times. 
     I remember my dad's exclamation when I was suffering though an ugly-duckling phase.  I came down the stairs in my Easter dress, and Daddy said,  "You look like Grace Kelly!  Oh, no, the boys are going to whistle at your legs now."  Those words stayed with me for years.  I felt that if Daddy thought I was beautiful, I deserved respect.  His protective and appropriate attitude toward me kept me from settling for a lesser man in marriage.  I knew I had met my match when I dated a young man who respected me the way my dad always had.
     The fruit of our lips can bring teasing, torment, or praise and elevation to those around us. Jesus Himself said, ""Every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment."  I resolve in the new year to take the warning seriously, and make every conversation count.