It’s Only Words
“It’s only words
And words are all I have
To take your heart away.”
Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb (the “Bee Gees”) 1968
Words are funny things, aren’t they? Words can soothe a child, words can break a heart, words can start a riot, words can steel the soul.
Words in the mouth of a skilled advocate can change the course of the law. Words on the lips of a teacher can unlock the mystery of calculus, and words from a control tower can bring four hundred precious souls home through the perilous blizzard.
Churchill said he had nothing to offer but blood, sweat, and tears. Actually, all he had to offer was words. Only words. “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight in the fields…”. What words.
Words can inspire the heart to evil. The harangues of Hitler remain as chilling as ever. Recent events tell us that we seem not to have learned our lesson. Words could yet end our daylight of civilization.
Words can lift up the heart for good. Not surprisingly, like the Beatitudes (“Blessed are the merciful…”), the godly words of true spiritual leaders of all stripes instruct and inspire us to tread a higher pathway.
Words can wound. Once said, “I wish you had never been born!” will be a festering poison forever in the soul of a child.
Words can heal. Not as quickly as they can wound, but slowly and surely, words spoken kindly can bind up the tattered spirit. Solomon wrote, “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”
Yes, they’re only words. But in the end, words are all we have. Use them wisely and kindly.