Floccinaucinihilipilification – Our Words Matter!

Our words matter but does the word, floccinaucinihilipilification, one of the longest words in the dictionary, really matter? I can’t say that I’ll ever use it in a talk, but it brought me inspiration for today’s post. It came up randomly in a pop-up advertisement. It intrigued me and I even looked up its origin. Back in the eighteenth century, Eton College had a grammar book which listed a set of words from Latin which all meant "something of little or no value". In order, those were flocci, nauci, nihili, and pili (which sound like four of the seven dwarves). "Fication" was tagged on at the end and now it means the “action or habit of estimating as worthless or no value.” That, my friends, is a word that no one should ever speak over you because you and YOUR words have great worth and great value when they are especially God’s words flowing through you.

We do matter and so do the words we speak. I’ve been given words of life and I pay attention to others to pay it forward and offer them words of life. When I saw a couple of dear friends going through some challenging times, I knew I needed to encourage them. I paid attention and I wanted to help them use the RIGHT words that will help produce a harvest of blessings. Oftentimes our words of negativity can be what digs up the seeds of faith and hope that we’ve planted. So, when the pressure comes, it is vitally important to use faith-filled words of hope and expectation.

As I read the Bible, I fall more and more in love with Jesus. He noticed people and usually they were the people that others overlooked -- the rejected, the outcasts, the crippled, the thirsty, the broken and the sick. He cared about them and often went out of His way to speak to them. He paid attention them. He gave them His voice. Sometimes He would have detailed conversation with strangers like the Samaritan woman at the well. He gave her words of life, and because He did, she brought truth to an entire village. Many were saved because she received words of life. And, she gave words of life.

You, and your words, may be the exact, one-of-a-kind expression of God’s love someone needs today. It doesn’t matter how loud your voice is. What matters is using the one He gave you. It doesn’t matter how much speaking experience you have or how many Bible verses you know. What matters is you caring and sharing your own unique story of God’s amazing grace and how you made it through your own set of challenging situations.

You are positioned within your family, friendships and community to offer something only you can. Offer your voice. Offer words of life to someone today. Be a life giver. That’s all God asks us to do. When we step out in faith and trust that He is speaking through us to others, lives change. All we need to do is watch and listen for the right moment to us words of life to change a life!

Our WORDS Matter

If you follow my blog or my Facebook posts you know that I’ve determined to have a “word of the day” every day this year. Having that focus has sure helped me with my subject matter. God highlights a word to me and then I run with it. My WORD today is WORD: a single, distinct, element of speech or writing, used with others (or sometimes alone) to form a sentence. That sounds innocent enough. Right? Oh, but our WORDS matter!

Our WORDS convey who we are and what’s in our hearts. “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” (Luke 6:45) I watched Billy Graham's funeral service online yesterday. Whenever I’ve heard his name mentioned, since his passing and before, he was the good man that this scripture described.
Like Billy Graham, may our hearts be filled with good things and when we speak…..people listen to those words and are refreshed and encouraged because of them. May we be God's instruments of peace and love when we speak not hate.

God, Himself, proved that WORDS matter. He started out this massive universe with creative WORDS “Let there be light, and there was light”. (Genesis 1:3). It’s been a great learning experience to look up word definitions, but to also take those WORDS to heart to help make me that good woman who brings good things out of her heart. Our WORDS matter.

Aren't these some of those good words? “I love you, you’re important to me, thank you so much, how can I repay you, you look really nice today, I’m so sorry, I forgive you, I like your new hair style, great job, this place wouldn’t be the same without you, I’m so proud of you, you are irreplaceable, you brighten up the room when you come in.”

And then there are those words that produce just the opposite: “I hate you, you're stupid, I am such a LOSER!, you are hopeless, I wish you had never been born, I wish I were dead, you make me sick, I will never forgive you, I want a divorce, nobody cares about you, I’ll never speak to you again.”

“Words can bring death or life! Talk too much, and you will eat everything you say.” (Proverbs 18:21). We were made in God’s image. He created this world with His words. We, too, create with our words. We can usher in praise when the world seems to crumble around us. We can bring hope when everything seems hopeless. We can soothe a troubled heart, when someone is in despair. We can bring LIFE with our words.

In our lifetime, we could fill a library with the words we speak, and if we did, what would the titles of those books be? Our words have a powerful influence on others. God is looking for messengers of hope, faith and love and He wants our WORDS to be on target each day doing just that.

Proverbs 16:24 says "Pleasant words are honey from a honeycomb— sweet to the soul and healing for the body." Don't we want pleasant words to come from our hearts and mouths that reflect God’s character in our actions. Whether we are talking with a store cashier or interacting with those we do everyday life with, don't we want to work towards being men and women who display Godly character and who possess the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control to be evident through our words?

Whether our day goes smooth as glass or is rocky and bumpy, may God’s messages of truth have such an impact on us that our hearts and mouths produce "soft and sweet words.....so that if we have to eat them, we'll be eating yummy, delectable treats.