“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
(Matthew 4:4)
Words are like food.
We take them in. Chew on them. Ingest them.
Just as food travels through the digestive system, words travel, too. Through our brains into our hearts.
But unlike the physical substance, which is eliminated by the body, the words we consume remain with us. They take up residency.
And they echo.
They have the power to change who we are.
I’ve realized that I’m becoming a linguistic junk food addict.
Words assault us every waking moment. They scream at us from our TV’s. They blare from the car radio and our Ipods. They glare from the computer screen. They lure from the covers of magazines. They emanate from the yelled conversations of strangers on cell phones.
Many of those verbal morsels contain zero nutritive value.
Some are Twinkies.
Some are hot wings.
Some are just pure poison.
Even excrement.
It’s astonishing what we’ll injest. Or absorb into our systems by osmosis.
But we do have a choice.
Just as I can choose a turkey sandwich on wheat bread over a Whopper with fries and a shake, I can choose which words to consume.
I can injest words that make me healthy, instead of words that make me sick. Words that build up rather than words that tear down. Words that inspire over those that instigate desire.
I can take in rich words that fill me up, instead of those that leave me empty.
I can drink down deep words that refresh me, rather than those that leave me parched and dry.
Sometimes I have to shake myself up and ask…
What are you feeding on today?
Are you devouring juicy tidbits of titillating gossip? Are you crunching on dry bones of negativity? Are you licking sticky sweet cotton candy fluff? Are you quaffing down bitter draughts of envy-inspiring imagery?
Or are you feasting on the Word of God?
***************
“Taste and see that the LORD is good.” (Psalm 34:8)
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)
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3 comments:
Hmm. I have to say, my word diet is not entirely health food. I like fluffy fiction and movies, gossip intrigues me, and I have a bizarre tendency to read the "comments" section of online news stories. (Talk about toxic!) But I do like to pretend I'm like the liver and detoxify whatever passes through me.
What we say can be just as toxic as what we hear. You can take the best news and warp it into something ugly. "They're expecting! But the baby's due six months after the wedding. Whoops." "He got a great job. Hopefully he learned something after that fiasco with his last one." We even imply negativity with compliments, like a "great sense of humor" equals "not at all attractive."
Words have power. They don't just reflect us, they shape us when we use them.
"Words have power. They don't just reflect us, they shape us when we use them." That is a POWERFUL statement Laurel. Kim, your post is right on point and thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I first read this post last week and there's so much that has gone deep, I've just had to sit with Him and let it sink even deeper! Then yesterday a word was given that reminded us that we tend to run from one friend to another "sharing", when it's to Him we should look for answers. A slightly different facet of what you have posted, but very much related. Thank you so much for always pointing us back to Him!!
Love, hugs and prayers!
L
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