Words can be a weapon or a medicine
- Kyle Snyder: Live on Purpose
- July 21, 2024
- 537
“No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.”
—Robin Williams
I watch very little news, so I was completely shocked when I learned an assassination attempt was made on a former president. Whether we like him or not, it doesn’t really matter right now — he is a human being. I would never express my political opinions in public. I don’t think I should write about a volatile topic in my column. If an attempt had been made on the other candidate, I would be equally as shocked. I want all of the candidates to be safe. No one should be shot at, no matter what.
We all have heard the saying “sticks and stones might break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” I wonder if the person who wrote that was deaf because the only way words cannot hurt us is if we don’t hear them. When I was a boy, we used to say, “I am rubber and you are glue. What you say bounces off me and sticks to you.” However, sometimes we are the glue, and the words stick to us — hopefully only for a little bit, but for some of us getting detached from the words is a lifelong process.
I know people who have been told so many times what they can or can’t do. Over time their personalities developed to fit all the negative names people called them. They come to a point where they even call themselves the names other people call them. And then why even try? We don’t know where people are in their lives. That is why we must always try to say uplifting words to all we meet. While we can’t know where people are at, we can watch what we say to people. I know I don’t want to reinforce a negative belief about anyone.
We all have been around people who said the right things at the right time. Those words give us wind in our sails. There was a time when I was trying to overcome my negative thinking when it came to my cerebral palsy. Oftentimes God would put people in my path who would make a positive comment that just made my day. It was like I would be floating on air. One right word at the right time has incredible power. I have never seen anyone fly through the air, but sometimes I have seen people who almost flew because they were told the right words.
The Bible declares that the tongue has the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21). So be careful what you say, and just maybe you can make someone’s day.