Words Matter with Dr. Maya Angelou - Power Of Words

Words matter because, in some mysterious way, they are alive.

"Logos," is defined most often as "word," but it is also "principle," "idea," "truth," or "the things spoken of." It is also the act of speaking.

It is both in-transient and dynamic.

You speak a word, with or without intent, and the DNA of that word plants itself in the soul of the hearer. There, it is influenced by biases and that soul's own hunger. It takes root and bears fruit.

We ought to choose our words so that they are clear, compelling, compassionate, and consistent with what we truly want them to convey and accomplish.

We ought to choose them before we speak them. Choose them with intent and purpose. Choose them knowing that after we release them, we will no longer have control over how they are received or what they will do in the lives of others.
We need to remember that words matter and that they can build up or tear down.

Let us speak to edify.

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." - Proverbs 25:11

Love Edifies through Words.

One implication of the fact that love edifies is manifest in our use of words to communicate knowledge.

Knowledge, of the sort that puffs up, is shared with the goal of aggrandizing ourselves and asserting our superiority over ideas and people.

Love, when shared in words and deeds, is for the good of others.

We weigh what we say to determine the potential benefit and share on that basis.

When there is no benefit, it may be that silence is the order of the day.