The Ultimate Combination

It was a Thursday night in downtown Tulsa, on the corner of a street. I was surrounded by the beautiful homeless people of the area and a bunch of free hot dogs. I overheard a conversation that would continually eat at me until I pulled up a new word document and started writing. Which is how I got to this point right here.

I wasn’t even in the conversation. This conversation didn’t include me, it had nothing to do with me, but yet, it somehow still effected me.

As I was talking with a few other individuals, I heard something mind-blowing. A homeless man who’d come for a hot meal said,

“…our words have power over people and so often hurt people, but actions speak louder than words.”

It was only a fragment of the conversation, but it was enough. I don’t know his reason for saying it, his question behind it, or even how the conversation came about. What I do know, is that it made me think. And I’ve been thinking ever since.

He’s right. Our actions do hold weight. Our words do have the power to be cutting. And what we say does have an effect.

I don’t expect you guys to read a fluffy, nice, comfortable blog from me. That is not why I started this blog, and that’s not what I intend for it to be. I write this blog because I believe that the experiences I go through will mean something to someone else, as well. No matter if that’s one person or fifty, if the Lord places something on my heart, I’m going to write. End of story. I don’t think I’m something great, or anything extraordinary. God uses ordinary people, and that’s me. I’m ordinary and that’s fine with me! Why am I saying all this? Because I believe God speaks through people and I believe He speaks through writing. So here I am.

I’ve been reading Love Does by Bob Goff, but haven’t been able to read much since the beginning of last week. Since before my Thursday night encounter, to be exact. I’ve felt a little bug about writing since then, so as I sat down to do just that, I first opened up to where I left off in Love Does. Ironically (but not ironic at all), the subtitle to the chapter says,

“I used to think the words spoken about us describe who we are, but now I know they shape who we are.”

The chapter was all about words and how they can have such an impact on our lives. The words we say to people can help shape who we are and who we want to become. Coincidence? I think not. More like, God.

So I heard this statement from a complete stranger on a cold Thursday night about the power of words and actions and I re-realized something I already knew. Words and actions have the beautiful opportunity to be significant. It’s up to us to determine which kind of significant that is – significantly detrimental or significantly life-changing.

The placement of words and the practice of actions have the potential be so powerful, so life-changing, so unlike anything you’ve ever experience, you’ll never want to go back. Take peanut butter and jelly, for example. Totally great and fully functioning on their own, but put them together and it’s like a whole new world! It’s suddenly become something bigger and better than a simple piece of jelly toast. You’ve now tasted heaven, and to go back would be mere stupidity.

Same thing with words and actions. Both are great and functional on their own, but I believe that together, the other becomes stronger, and as one unit, becomes more impactful and memorable than we give them credit for. We’ve all heard people say things just to fill the silence, creating unkept promises to make the awkwardness disappear. Or even worse, to make us feel better about ourselves. How often do we truly do what we actually say? Not enough. How much sweeter it is when we see effort and action behind those words, giving them life and meaningful weight. How much sweeter it is when we get to fill a stranger’s life with purpose and hope because of the hope we carry with us.

Colossians 4:5-6 says this:

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

The same is true in our walk with God. There is something special about when we carry out what we say we’re going to do. And even greater than that, if we discover the power of our words, and find some way to communicate in other ways than just words, there’s no telling what may happen, or whose life may be altered. You never know the hope you carry until you let others see it through your life.

We have the power to alter someone’s life for better or worse. Words and actions go both ways and have the ability to help, but also hurt. Bob Goff writes,

“Words of encouragement are like that. They have their own power. And when they are said by the right people, they can change everything. What I’ve found in following Jesus is that most of the time, when it comes to who says it, we each are the right people. And I’ve concluded something else. That the words people say to us not only have shelf life but have the ability to shape life.”

If we only realized this, if us ordinary folks only knew the opportunity we had, I think we’d all be a little bit slower to speak and a little more choosy with our words. We’d all take an extra second and make sure that what comes out of our mouth is genuine and true. We’d go about our day in confidence that our encouragement would be known in many different ways.

Ephesians 4:29 states very clearly:

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

You’ve got all you need to impact someone’s life, what are you going to do about it?

xoxo,

jaim