Kids crack me up. One can never predict what might tumble from their imaginative brains down to their unfiltered little lips! Thus was the case with seven year old Hannah the other day. Skipping along the sidewalk to the library, she spouted this random, unsolicited advice, “Never bark at a dog.” While waiting for her to finish pontificating, my grownup mind searched a list of possible reasons never to bark at the canine species. It might bite you was the response I was expecting, but her words interrupted my wondering. “NEVER bark at a dog because you don’t know what you might be saying!” This is true. I am not fluent in dog language. My little friend further cautioned me that I might even be saying bad words to the dog and not even know it! Oh, the humanity.
Words are powerful. God surely knows this and warned us to be careful with our words – long before the thought ever occurred to Hannah! Proverbs 18:21a tells us, “The tongue has the power of life and death…” Ruff ruff! It sounds like maybe I need to pay better attention to my own barking. My words hold the power of death? Yes – death to dreams, confidence, courage, hope, affection, trust, respect – just to name a few. I may never know the damage I’ve done by my careless words! Maybe I was being sarcastic or just making a joke, but at what expense? My beloved mentor, Florence Littauer, wrote a best-selling book years ago entitled, “Silver Boxes.” In this wonderful book, she shares her own experiences with the power of words. Here is her poem by the same name:
“Silver Boxes”
My words were harsh & hasty
And they came without a thought.
Then I saw the pain & anguish
That my bitter words had brought. Bitter words that I had spoken
Made me think back through the past;
Of how many times I'd uttered
Biting words whose pain would last. Then I wondered of the people
I had hurt by things I'd said;
All the ones I had discouraged
When I didn't use my head. Then I thought about my own life
Of painful words I've heard;
And of the times I'd been discouraged
By a sharp and cruel word. And now clearly I remember
All the things I might have done;
But, by a word I was discouraged
And they never were begun. So, help my words be silver boxes,
Neatly wrapped up with a bow;
That I give to all so freely,
As through each day I gladly go. Silver boxes full of treasure,
Precious gifts from above;
That all the people I encounter
Might have a box of love
Ah, my words can also be power-packed with life! I see this most of all in my relationship with my children. When I praise them or affirm the God-gifts in their lives, my words are like cool water to the parched soil of their hearts. The wilting stems of self-doubt begin to straighten themselves up into tall confidence and before I know it, there is vibrant foliage of resilience and striking blooms of courage!
I think that Hannah may be onto something. “Never bark at a dog…or your spouse, children, parents, boss, co-worker, umpire, or even that driver that cut you off in traffic today! You don’t know what you might be saying!”
(as published in SHE! August 2010)
