Holiness: Words

With [our tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God....my brothers these things ought not to be so. -- James 3:9

"Words have power." We've heard it a million times. "Guard your tongue." So the preachers tell us over and over again. "Do not speak evil of others." We know it's wrong to gossip and slander (called "lashon hara" in Hebrew). Yet, our tongues slip so easily. And then there's all the noise, the words that mean nothing but take up space.

Last fall I wrote about perspective, how our focus steers the way we act. This is closely related to words. James tells us that the tongue is like the rudder of the ship. The way we speak affects the way we see things. The words you say become what you believe. When you speak negatively, your attitude becomes negative. But when you speak words of love, when you pray for your enemies, when you bless God who gives and takes away--your focus turns toward those things. Prayer is an amazing tool that we have been given to help us with this.

There's another tradition I've found helpful. The Jewish people have a tradition to say at least one hundred blessings a day. Now, I can't say that I make to one hundred each day, but I have found it helpful to say a quick blessing here and there. Look around you--there are so many things to bless God for. His daily provision, His wonderful creation, His loving discipline, His abundant grace. And when things don't go so well, bless our Redeemer who will one day make all things new.

Bless God for the people around you and pray for them. Bless and do not curse. Bless God who created you, who carefully formed your body and your mind and your spirit, who planted in you dreams and equipped you with talent. You bear the signature of divine, so do not degrade yourself. Bless and do not curse.

Think about how you use your words this week.


*As a side note, Jewish tradition connects leprosy to the sin of lashon hara (as when Miriam spoke against Moses and became leprous). Leprosy was considered the outward sign of the "uncleanness" that Yeshua spoke of in Matthew 15:18.

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Beyond the Words

Remember playing on the merry-go-round at the park? We would always get a group of three or four of us together to spin it around. It's takes a bit to get up to speed, but once the momentum is going, it's hard to stop. At that point we would pull ourselves up onto the spinning circle of death and watch as the world became a blur. That about sums up my thoughts right now. Actually, that describes my thoughts much of the time.

I'm a project person. I'm a jump into the next exciting project before the last one is barely off the ground type of person. The projects quickly pile up and before I know it, I realize that I have overwhelmed myself again. At first I try to hold onto everything. Eventually, I realize I have to cut back. I reprioritize, try to figure out what is most important to me so that I can focus on just one or two (or three) projects. Patience is not one of my strengths--the process begins again and each time I find my priorities come out differently.

Which brings me to globalization / localization. Not sure how it connects, but I'm sure it does. I don't think we were designed to operate in a globalized context. Constantly connected to hundreds of people across the world, having all the knowledge of the world at your fingertips. It's overwhelming. It wouldn't be so bad except it tends to push out our local world. Instead of developing close friendships, we seek a platform to broadcast ourselves. There's only so much space in the world and we're filling it up with noise.

Silence is something we have forgotten. What if there were no words? No Facebook, no phones, no email, no blogs. What if the only way to communicate was through physical interaction? A helping hand. A shove. A fist. A hug. Shared silence. Just something to think about. Words have a place, but sometimes oftentimes we send them off full of nothing but hot air.

So, it seems a bit ironic that I would be blogging about all of this. This is one of my many projects, placed before the eyes of the world. Whether the words are empty or full or something in between is debatable. Even words that mean something can be as nothing when placed in the wrong context (as a cup of water is life to a thirsty man, but nothing when poured into the ocean of people).

Out of all my projects, this is the one that continues through everything. Why? Because there is no goal. There are no boundaries. I am simply free to be me. The Midrash Newsletter used to fulfill this role (it went on for eight years), but I've found the blog gives me more freedom. And if nobody reads it, that's ok. It's enough for the words to be. This is who I am.

I heard someone say once that "we humans are a universe to ourselves." When I look back at the things I have written on Chasing After The Ruach, I see that in just this small glimpse of myself. And then I realize just how little I know even my closest friends. I think figuring out who you are yourself gives you an appreciation for the sanctity and depth of life--and pushes me forward to come to know those lives outside of myself. To hear their stories, to see through their eyes, to identify with their struggles, to share their dreams. To know and be known--is this not what we all long for?

When you step back from the noise and see, really see, the beauty of a human soul, the creativity and handiwork of God in a human being--it is truly a humbling experience. And you realize that it's not about what they do or say or your attempts to change them. It is enough for them to be.

The Big Conversation

It all started when you were born and you said hello to the world. Well, it was probably more like screaming hello. At that moment, you entered the Big Conversation. Ever since then, it has been back and forth, speaking and listening, giving and taking, acting and watching, leading and following.

That's the way I see life. It's just one big conversation between all of humanity. Everything I say or do is like a Skype message going out for the world to see. Sometimes these messages mean the world to someone--like a hug. Sometimes they're ignored. Sometimes they add to a person's collection of words and phrases, making them just a little bit smarter. Sometimes they add to the junk pile, just taking up space.

It's also a conversation between man and God. The conversation goes back to the beginning of time when God said "Let there be light!" and behold there was light. Man saw the light, an invitation to the table to fellowship with the Living God. We all have a choice to either enter the conversation or ignore Him. Whether we argue with Him or seek to know His heart, God has our attention and the conversation goes on. But when we ignore Him the conversation stops and life ends. Without the conversation, there is no life.

Just like every conversation, there are times when we lead and times when we follow. There are times when we speak and act deliberately and times life just naturally flows. Your actions are your words, who you are is your story--one thread woven throughout the fabric of humanity, one voice amidst the big conversation.

Seeds of Thought

Have you ever noticed how sometimes something you say, even if it seems meaningless to you, can be the most profound thing to someone else? And other times the deep words of wisdom that you put so much thought into fall only on deaf ears.

Words are like seeds. Every word you speak has the potential to grow. Seems like most of them never take root, but every word has the same potential. Doesn't matter whether it is wise advice or a harmless joke or just small talk. Each word falls upon the soil of whoever is listening--and if the soil is right, that word can take on a life of its own. It will grow in a person's mind until eventually it begins to bear fruit, good or bad. 

One word. 

And it could be any word.