The Power of a Word

Recently I was 3,000 miles away from home and I heard the name of an acquaintance mentioned from the podium of the event I was attending.  It surprised me that the speaker and I were mutually acquainted with this individual, who was no one of renown or important position that he should be mentioned up front.

Why the mention? It turned out that our mutual acquaintance had offered a word of counsel at the precise time the speaker and the institution he represented were facing a dilemma.  The time-honed wisdom of the counsel was precisely the perspective needed to shine light on the correct course of action.  The advice-giver, also many thousands of miles from home, never set foot on the campus of the institution again.

This is the power of a word in season!  But, what does “in season” mean?  My paternal grandmother, in her wisdom of being 65 years my senior, would offer advice about selecting a mate and marriage before I was even seriously involved with anyone. 

“I’m telling you now, so that when you’re there you’ll already know my thoughts,” she would say. “You’ll have to ask me outright then, because I’ll be holding my peace, when you’re at that stage.”  Smart woman, knowing when to speak and when not to! At age twenty I felt empowered. She would trust my decision making and not micro-manage…and yet I could feel free to turn to her if I needed.

Our words can imply confidence and empowerment, or they can also leave an impression of distrust and second-guessing.

A word “out of season” can have a draining effect. On a driving trip to the Jersey shore a few year so, I was giving a ride to someone who was filled with foreboding about the route I had chosen to travel, and mentioned it several times. We would be mired down in traffic for hours, this person warned. All went smoothly. The fears were unfounded, but they did take a little joy out of the journey for me.

So let’s be more mindful of our words!  They will imply confidence and empowerment, or they can also leave an impression of distrust and second-guessing, as if the listener is incapable of weighing the issues at hand.  

Giving advice that went unheeded is an experience Christ himself experienced!  Think about it!  How many times did he explain things to come to his twelve disciples, to help prepare them? The dynamics were outside their understanding at the time. And yet he promised to never leave them. He inspired confidence.  And while they disappointed him in the short term, they didn’t disappoint him in the long run. 

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold In settings of silver. Proverbs 25:11 NKJV