Words ...

Monday, June 27, 2016. After the Brexit decision of the British people many politicians in the EU were speachless. But now we get a wave of articles. Many try to interpret what happened and where we go as a European people. And we listen to many words. In all of this, words played a major role. The Brexit campaigners promised much money which would be spent on health care in the UK when leaving the EU. Now they cannot guarantee this any more. Words are dangerous!

Words are dangerous …

Words are important, what would we be without words. Humans speak, and speech is the core human activity. We interact with each other by words. We talk, we build relationships, we exchange information, we confirm and promise particular behaviour. Words can be used to support someone. Words can be used to harm others. Words can hurt.

Words need to be taken serious. Words have power. Our motivation, the perception of ourselves as well as our emotions and feelings are strongly influenced by words. And it also works the other way around. We express what we feel. We express what we are, what we perceive, what we generate inside of us. Words are a direct path into our soul, our mind, our emotions, our deep spiritual reality.

Words are also tools of reason. Our thinking, our science, our arguments, our discussion … it is all words, carried out by words, communicated by words. Even mathematical definitions are formulated using words, and there is no equation which would not need words to tell what it means and how it is to be used. We are all word, our existence is determined by words.

The righteous and his words …

The bible is a book full of words and full of images described by words. It tells human history, by words. But the role of the word is even deeper: we hear about “the word”, which was at the beginning. We hear about the words of the righteous one, who utters wisdom and speaks justice. Let us listen to Psalm 37:

28 For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. 29 The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever. 30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip. 32 The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death. 33 The Lord will not abandon him to his power or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial. 34 Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off. 35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree.4 36 But he passed away,5 and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found. 37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace.

(Psalm 37, 28-37)

The psalm is a prophetic psalm. As always with Old Testament prophecy, it has two layers, one very concrete speaking about the reality of its time. And a second layer of prophecy where it talks about the role of Jesus, who is the righteous one. These lines can be seen as God's promise to the believer who's path follows justice. But its ultimate target is Christ Jesus, who is the only one who could keep justice to the end. This song is full of hope, full of promise, full of encouragement to speak in a careful manner and to seek God's company with all what we do. (Roland Potthast) ... more texts