Okay, always the skeptic, I decided that I'm going to try it myself. So yesterday I cooked up some rice and put it in three glass cups and set them on a shelf in my writing room. Here's a picture.
I will let you know in a month the results.
However, this got me to thinking about the power of words. The Bible has much to say about words.
God created the heavens and the earth with simple words.
Throughout the Bible, Fathers passed down blessings on their children through words. These blessings were considered so binding and valuable that Jacob tricked his brother Esau just so he could receive the blessing intended for him.
And who can forget the story of King Balak of Moab who hired the spiritist Balaam to curse the people of Israel? On his way there, God prevented him from doing so by a talking donkey. Now, why would God prevent him, why would He even care if there were no power in words?
And why does just saying the name of Jesus scatter demons?
But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. James 3:8-10
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21
In other words, I believe God imbued spiritual power into our words. What we say to others (AND TO OURSELVES) has enormous impact in the spirit realm, which impacts our own life and others.
Don't you always feel uplifted when someone compliments you or someone speaks positively into your life or even after a simple hug and an "I love you." And what about the opposite? A harsh word, a condemnation can ruin your day, right? You might say that of course that's to be expected. Everyone reacts positively to kind words. I agree. But I believe there's more to it than that. I believe our spirits are impacted deeply by words, even to the point of changing our lives. Yet, in this culture, it seems words are tossed around so flippantly. I'm guilty of this too. We all need to choose our words carefully, what we say to others, to ourselves, and the words we just toss into the air when we don't think anyone is listening. They ALL have an affect on our lives. They have power. They have consequences. We can use our words to encourage, love, build up, teach, or we can use our words to destroy, discourage, tear down and rip apart.
I believe God is serious about our words. Perhaps we should be too!
But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. Matthew 12:36
Want to see the short experiment by Dr. Emoto, click below.
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I once heard it said that, with every word we speak, we are giving Satan permission to use it, whether for or against ourselves or another.
ReplyDeleteThat's why positive words are so important...
Oh, I like that...
DeleteOur words and how we use them not only lifts others up or down just by the inflection of our tone. When I worked at the bank, I transferred to the Safe Deposit Department. One day a little hunched old lady got off the elevator, walked by our glassed in department and stared with the face of a grouchy person. She was what my co-worker called the -potty lady. My goal was to say -"Hello. How are you today." My co-worker said - "She is just a miserable old lady" day after day I went through my greeting to her. Weeks after week and all I received was a very angry stare. Months went by and I never gave up. One day as she walked by even before I could say my greeting-- she looked at me and said, "What time does your watch on the wall say? I don't want to miss my bus." She wasn't angry after all - she could hardly see the clock on the wall.
ReplyDeleteShe was old, almost blind and needed to know that some cared.I talk to people I do not know all the time. A t airports, stores, parks and as I step out into the world, I silently ask God to Let me be a light of Christ to someone this day? Words can hurt or they can build others up. What would Jesus have us do but to be gentle and kind to those who do not know Him!
I'm with you, Elsie! Talk about spreading the light of Christ wherever we go!:) When my mom and I go shopping, I am polite with the shop assistant and say "thank you" after they handed me the product that I requested and I noticed that I always get a smile in return.:) Yes, I definitely agree, our words have tremendous power, especially as children of God.I took a great Bible study a few years ago and at some point, it stated the importance of speaking truth and blessing into our own lives and in the lives of others.The devil surely takes advantage of our negativity.We always need to line up our thought with the Word of God and speak it ( literally) into our lives.When we buy into the devil's lies and speak them out aloud, we're in for trouble.I know that we should always proclaim the reign of Christ into our homes or at our workplace,ask the Lord to cover us with His blood and speak blessing over our work, family, etc.It's called "cleaning" up the house in a spiritual sense.:)
DeleteA truly timely post, Marylu!I'm curious to see how your own rice experiment goes.:)
Great story, Elsie.. you have reminded me that our perception of people is not often correct. We judge by their outer appearance or expressions, but we could be so far from the truth.
DeleteRose, Amen and Yes... The devil has plenty of people to repeat his lies, it's time the church stood up and started speaking God's truth and proclaiming blessings on our home, neighborhoods and workplaces!
Mon Apr 11th,
ReplyDelete"Hello, MaryLu ... and gals."
What a timely word, an excellent word ... one that I sure needed to hear !
I have to really watch/listen to "how" something comes out of my mouth in speech ... tend to "call it as I see it" ... which is often in a negative light.
To my own self especially .... I run me down constantly -- making fun of myself, degrading myself, giving no positive feed-back to myself.
And I am aware of that verse -- that "we have the power to speak both life or death from our tongues".
May I truly come to -- "encourage, love, build up and teach" MORE ... than "discourage, destroy, tear down and rip apart" !
Yes ... God absolutely cares "what" comes out of our mouths !!!
Thank-you for another excellent post !!!
Take care, and, God Bless, In Him, Brenda
Brenda, I have a problem too with negative self-talk. It may seem harmless but I've realized that it's not. I'm giving the enemy power over me when I do that.. and I really want to stop! Thanks for coming by.... Hugs!
DeleteLove and hugs, my friend!
ReplyDeleteTotally curious about the rice experiment.
A powerful post, MaryLu - thank you!! I'm captivated by the rice experiment and anxious to hear the outcome of YOUR experiment.
ReplyDeleteI so agree with everything you stated in your post - it is very timely in that I had an unpleasant experience this past Sunday night with one of my aunt's caregivers. She apparently has had some painful past experiences preventing her from being able to accept mistakes she has made. More than once I have had difficult encounters with her over the same issue: correcting mistakes she has made in hours worked on her time sheets (which are turned into an insurance co. for expense reimbursement to my aunt). Sunday night was the worst: I stopped at my aunt's, dropped off a time sheet and calmly pointed out to the caregiver her mistake (hours for which she had already been paid), and asked her to correct it (my aunt was in another room). The caregiver literally went ballistic - no other word for it - screaming while I was talking and refusing to hear what I had to say, grabbing time sheets out of my hands, throwing things at me, proclaiming she was resigning, and stomping off!! I left, called my brother (who also is a power of attorney for my aunt, as am I)- explained the situation, and asked that he come out to my aunt's house and deal with the caregiver. He had the same experience with her and eventually demanded that she stop screaming, sit down, and listen to what he had to say - my 92-year old aunt trying to calm the caregiver also.
My point is that I allowed this incident to upset me more than it should have - Sunday night and Monday also. Granted, I am always under a lot of stress due to helping care for not only my aunt, but also a father and mother with serious health issues and serious health issues of my own. However, after reading your post - I was reminded that even though I have been praying about the incident, I allowed satan to use that opportunity to steal my peace and joy. Prohibiting me from being the spiritual witness I needed to be while being so stressed out over the situation. My reaction, hard as it would have been at the time, should have been to pray for her. We must be mindful, not only of the things WE say, but also our reactions to things others say to us.
Love, prayers, and hugs - MaryLu!!
Bonnie, I'm so sorry about that situation with your aunt's caregiver. It truly sounds impossible to deal with. I'm not sure I would have kept my tongue in control at someone who was purposely cheating my aunt and then yelling at me about it when they got caught. GRR. Anyway, i'm sorry it upset you so. You have SO MUCH on your plate right now. Give yourself a break for perhaps not acting as well as you should have. It's completely understandable. Please write me and let me know how you are doing.. love and hugs to you!
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