Socrates said, “The misuse of language induces evil in the soul.” Through the art of storytelling, I as a writer and actor, want to convey in words an idea or belief that might entertain or inspire a reader or an audience, to strengthen the heart and mind, to enliven the soul, to boost a deeper sense of our place in the world and the beauty found therein.
Encouraging words are like precious gems that can gladden the heart of the one who hears them, but also the one who speaks them. The speaker has had to go through the mental process of thinking of good words to say. It is a thoughtful process weighing the proper words. When we consider how we might speak words of encouragement to someone, we are not just thinking about what they might want to hear, but also what we might want to have someone say to us.
A couple of Hebrew proverbs come to mind. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Anyone with the ability to speak wields power, but have we ever considered just how powerful? This proverb states that what we say, the words we use to communicate, can influence life or death. There are consequences to everything we say. Our words can bring healing and comfort (life) or can break a heart with discouragement and despondency (death). Control over what we say and how we say it is important.
One proverb that inspires conversation is Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” When we spend quality time engaged in social interaction our hearts and minds are stimulated and we develop and improve our personal character and deepen our relationships with other people.
The “iron sharpens iron” should not be interpreted as combative. It is like filing down an object to make it sharper, more useful, keener in purpose. Listening and conversing can equip us with knowledge we might not have known before or help us unlearn something that we thought we knew but knew incorrectly.
Good words brings joy, they provide insight, deepen the truth, expose falsehood, and can strengthen our souls, so use them well and often.
