We tried to talk it over but the words got in the way, Leon Russell

Words, and words we live and die by. I love words.  The title of this blog is a play on words, my favorite hyperbole of all. But yet so very true. People take words like so many other things in life too much for granted and to their own peril. In a sense many end up eating their own words. That will be most revealing on the day of judgment. OK, now I’ve done it,  there’s where I lost most of my audience and so good riddance. I only want to write to the believers anyway. Now there’s an interesting word, believers. Do they really? Do you know how far the head is from the heart? The difference between I believe and I know. Don’t even the devils believe (James 2:19)? But they don’t know the One. Well, Robbie, that’s not true, they really do. Well if you look at the word know of which I speak, you will see clearly it is one that means possession. In fact, in the book of Genesis, Adam knew Eve and she conceived (Gen 4:1). Know is to have something, know means intimacy.  So it brings me back to the title, the words got in the way. Have I lost you yet? Words brought in the existence of everything (that we know to be everything). In Genesis 1 I count 9 times that “God said…” and in John 1 the Word says… “In the beginning was the Word”.  Are we getting traction yet? I think by now you are seeing the profound significance and consequences of words. You have heard the phrase many times and most children and idiots still do, “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me.” That’s a lie because they do. I bet there are brooding and festering words that someone told you years ago that still evoke a myriad of feelings including bitterness and resentment? Some one told me once the sorriest two words in the dictionary are “too late”! I’ve also been told that two of the most prominent things left to a person at the end of life are memories and regrets. Some of those were things said OR NOT said. Missed opportunities to speak well can be as well very disconcerting. On the other hand, the right words said at the right time can be very therapeutic and meaningful, take the following:

Prov 25:11
11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold
In settings of silver.
NKJV

And there are times when someone should say something to you even though it may hurt…

Prov 27:6
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
NKJV

Then there are the last words spoken. Every condemned soul are given a chance to say something. My grandmother, the day before she died, told me with piercing eyes and clear and distinct words, “I love you Robbie.” What you should know about that is that a year or more before that day she couldn’t formulate a whole sentence even if her life depended on it. Did she receive help from above to “speak yet once more”.  Yes, I think it was important for God to give her that opportunity. So how important is last words? Think about the two thieves that died on the cross with Christ.

Luke 23:42-43
Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” 43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
NKJV

When I at last made peace with God through the atoning blood of Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, I was then and only then able to speak the right words for salvation.

Rom 10:8
“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”
NKJV

Even in our prayers we want/need to say the right things.

Ps 19:14
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.
NKJV

And when we can’t come up with the words to say…

Rom 8:26
26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
NKJV

We all have favorite words, some of mine are paradox, epiphany, dichotomy, mystery, convergence, and enigma. I call these my “working words” that is I look for them, they serve to be the gateway between this world and the next.

The Apostle Paul is one my favorite writers. The ability to communicate with words is the word articulation. Paul was a master at it. I should add that the words were also divine in nature being the inspired Word of God. But to really enjoy the way something is done well is to appreciate art in it’s highest form.  He was a master at hyperbole, the intentional exaggeration of a saying or word to emphasize something. For instance, take the following…

Phil 2:1
2 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ
NKJV

Here are 8 words. There are three words that could by themselves effect the importance of what is being said, Therefor, if, and any. For instance the word if in this context… IF there is any consolation in Christ. Can you hear it? It screams at me. I am dumbfounded by the profoundness of it. It’s like asking the most stupid question you can think of because there is NO CONSOLATION AT ALL WITHOUT CHRIST. Think about this again. Take the word consolation. You can’t have consolation without a loser. The consolation prize goes to a loser! Think about the Olympics. They have a gold, silver, and bronze do they not? The first is the real winner, the second and third are losers albeit still a noble prize but still the same a loser award. We are pilgrims, wayfarers, aliens, and strangers.  We are even worse according to Paul…

1 Cor 4:13
We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.
NKJV

But we are citizens of heaven, even now.

I think the importance of words come with a realization that’s all we have and that’s all we need. Did not Christ Himself state this to Satan when He was being tempted in the wilderness?

Matt 4:4
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
NKJV

And now, my only prayer to God is to find the right words to say to YOU.  Because, if I could say but one thing that would propel you into the heart of Christ I would be at peace and close my eyes in death. To in some way soothe the broken heart of Christ. To eke (how is that for a word?) out a smile from the Almighty.

But unfortunately for me and for you we live in a broken world where everything we say even in the best way possible is often if not always taken or received in the wrong way. Everybody has an angle, everyone is proud, and even when we say something good God Himself might hide our advantage to keep us humble.

“We tried to talk it over but the words got in the way, we’re lost inside this lonely game we play”

“Are we really happy with this lonely game we play, Looking for the right words to say, Searching but not finding understanding anyway,  we’re lost in this masquerade” Leon Russell

Just think if there had never been a tower of babel? Not only would we not be separated by different languages but even in 0ur own language we are seriously misunderstood and maligned.

Be encouraged, learn a new word, make a point to read more and expand your vocabulary. Read the Word because it’s the only truth you will find. Love the Word for He is the only Life there is.

I will with His help try and say the right thing when we meet again.

Peace