Consider the power of your chosen words and their potential effect on others.
“S
ticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
Most of us heard, and probably memorized, this old cliche when we were children. It was most likely intended to toughen our emotional makeup and make us impervi- ous to harsh criticisms. However, this cliche carries a very erroneous—even dangerous—inference about the power of the spoken word, and this especially applies to the words that come out of our own mouth. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 18:21 that “death and life
are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” When one begins to meditate on this scripture, you can see just how vital it is for us to carefully select what comes out of our mouths. One noted motivational speaker said, “each of us is the sum total of the words we have spoken in our life. If we’re not pleased or satis- fied with our station in life, we need to start talking different.” One day at the track, just
By Chaplain Sam Ed Spence, Race Track Chaplaincy of Texas
before I got to the end of a shed row on one of my morning rounds, a string of expletives erupted from the other side of the barn that would have made
a sailor blush. As I rounded the corner stall, the author of the statements—a trainer friend of mine—looked up in surprise. “Gosh, Chap, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were around.” I laughed and replied, “Aw, that’s OK. I’m not the one
you have to answer to anyhow.” Then I added—with the most non-condemning grin and tone of voice I could muster up—“But Jesus did say one time that ‘from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks,’ so I reckon we sorta know what’s in your heart, don’t we!” He chewed on that for a few moments, then replied, “Man alive, Chap, you’re being pretty hard on me!”
“No, partner, I don’t mean to condemn you at all. I just want to help you,” I said. “You’re exactly the way I was some years back before I began to understand the power of words. You see, that young horse you got upset at over there is not going to have his plight improved by what you said about him; in fact, he’s going to have a lot tougher row to hoe now than before you came down on him—all because of the power of the words we speak.” That really got my friend’s attention, and he wanted to
know more. I explained to him that God used words— faith-filled words—to form all of creation. In Genesis we read, “Then God said, ‘Let there be light.’ ” The state- ment “Then God said” is used eight times—the Bible is clearly emphasizing the importance of the spoken word. “Then God created man in His image and gave him the
power to use words to oversee and run the whole earth.” In fact, it was the power to speak words that gave Adam dominion over all the other creatures. The words that you and I speak are mighty important. Another Proverb says, “You are snared by the words of your mouth; you are taken by the words of your mouth.” Not only do our words reflect what we believe, they actu- ally create an environment of faith or an environment of doubt. Think about it: your words can create an environ- ment of faith, not only for your life, but also for the lives of others, including your horses! “Words paint pictures: pictures of defeat or pictures of
victory,” I told my friend. “Speak the devil’s words, and doubt, fear and despair result. Speak God’s word, and the result is faith, hope and love.” My friend decided real quick that he wanted to tear up the canvas he had begun to paint of his young racing prospect, and start over with some faith-filled words of positive qualities and blessings. Remember, words can wind up doing much more harm than sticks and stones.
Sam Ed Spence is a special contributor for Paint Horse Rac- ing. To comment on this column, email feedback@apha.com.