I must admit, I have not watched mainstream news shows since the Covid Fear Mongering of the spring of 2020. It has been quite lovely, not to be told what I was supposed to think by people who were repeating words they were told to say.
But last week I turned on my streaming device and there was a “live” news show streaming the Confirmation Hearings on Capital Hill. I figured that I would let it play while I made my coffee and prepared to begin my day.
Expecting to hear a question and answer session turned out to be a yelling and accusation session. Maybe once and awhile a question would be asked and the candidate would be allowed to answer it, but it was not the norm. Before long I found myself at the height of irritation and turned the TV off and would have to rely on someone else’s share on “X” or Charlie Kirks take on Telegram.
Somehow, though, the atmosphere in my kitchen had changed. I woke up happy, ready to do my morning bible study and enjoy my breakfast, but that few minutes of the news, the words themselves, and the venom behind them had a lingering effect that was palpable.
Genesis 1 tells us that the Creator God does His creating by speaking. He speaks and light and dark separate, birds and trees, water and land, and of course you and I. With humanity, however He carried it one step further, because we were made “In His Image.”
When He speaks, He creates.
When we speak, we create.
Words have power to encourage, to anger, to heal, to damage, and yes to create atmosphere. Grumbling, complaining were addressed in conversations God had with Moses as he led Israel from Egypt through their wilderness season. Paul warned the church at Corinth against “slander and gossip” (2 Corinthians 12:20), and Proverbs adds that “Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a conflict ceases.” (26:20). All through the bible words, the effective and evil use of our words are addressed. Proverbs also warns us that, “Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”(18:21)
There was a saying when I was growing up that went like this, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” In our world today it seems that we are living the opposite of that sentiment. The words being thrown around in todays culture, especially in America, carries with it an expectation of reaction, a burden of performance. Its manipulative grandstanding at its best and evil at its worst. So many people seem to be talking, words are not in short supply, yet the substance seems to create atmospheres of chaos.
Maybe we should all just shut up for a little while!
Of course that is not the answer…
But we can be better stewards of this most precious gift we have been given by our Creator. We can remember whose “image” we bear and when we speak, use it to create something “Very Good.”
