We all know that words have power. Even supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! I know – it’s hard to believe isn’t it?! It’’s actually a nonsense word used to express approval or as a great example of a very long word! And…another hard to believe – it’s been around since 1931. And we all thought Mary Poppins came up with it.
A clever gal by the name of Helen Herman made-up this word and once reflected about it. She described it as including “All words in the category of something wonderful” and “though rather long and tiring before one reaches its conclusion… once you arrive at the end, you have said in one word what it w ould ordinarily take four paragraphs to explain.” Genius really!
So words have power!! Even names have power – think Hitler, Judas Iscariot, or the Chicago Bears. Some names make us smile – think Dweezil Zappa & his sister Moon Unit. Some come about their names by accident – think Octomom. One celebrity, Miami Dolphin Mark Dupas, changed his name to Mark Duper. That apparently didn’t quite say it all, so he changed it to Mark Super Duper.
NBA player Ron Artest, wanting to turn over a new leaf, at one time changed his name to “Metta World Peace.” It didn’t work out so well for him, as not long after he decked another player with his elbow and was suspended for seven games, which was peanuts compared to his suspension of 86 games in 2004 for fighting with a fan. Opps! So much for World Peace!!
Proverbs 18 tells us that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat its fruits.” The word “power” is from a Hebrew word which means “The strength, the influence, the capability or the potential.” That can pack a lot of punch. It means the words we speak can either destroy or heal people. We can either crush people’s hearts or bring confidence to them. We can either build bridges or build walls. Our words have power! Someone once remarked that the reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail more than his tongue. Probably true!
If we indeed “eat the fruits” of our words then we need to be able to control and tame what comes out of our mouths. We will eventually reap what we sow. Your words have a tremendous influence over your life. James 3 says this: “Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.”
A huge horse – even a Clydesdale – can be controlled by a bit in its mouth. Check out the word “turn” in that verse. Your car is “turned” by your steering wheel – and your life is “turned” by your words. Your words are literally the steering wheel of your life. It’s your PGS – Personal Guidance System. If you don’t like the direction you’re headed in now – change what you say. As Tony Robbins noted – “Words can not only create emotions, they create actions. And from our actions flow the results of our lives.”
A high school teacher was once teaching a class about the USSR and all the power that the USA & the USSR had in their weapon reserves. Towards the end of the semester, one of his students raised their hand and asked him, “What is the most dangerous thing in the world?” The teacher quickly thought about all the knifes, guns, atomic bombs, nuclear bombs, satellite lasers, rockets and missiles, then said, “You’ll have to give me some time to think about that – I’ll get back to you.”
He went to bed that night thinking about that question: “What is the most dangerous thing in the world?!” He prayed and pondered…prayed and pondered. And when he woke up the next morning he had the answer. He knew for sure the answer was: Peoples’ words!
As someone once posted – “Words are sacred. If you get the right ones in the right order you can nudge the world a little.” And that is probably the most supercalifragilisticexpialidocious thing you have read today!
Bob snd Susan Beckett pastor The Dwelling Place City Church at 27100 Girard Street in Hemet, CA. For more information, you may contact them at DPCitychurh.org
