The words we choose: Part 1

In studying God's word and the many different translations, it got me thinking about our language today and the words we choose to use. I bring this up, as we live by the old rhyme of " sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me." If this is true, why do we hang on to the hurtful names we were called in our childhood? If this is true, why is there so much emphasis put on our use of words in God's word, the Holy Bible?

Proverbs 15:2,4,7,28
² The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly,
But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.⁴ A wholesome tongue is a tree of life,

But perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

⁷ The lips of the wise disperse knowledge,
But the heart of the fool does not do so.

²⁸ The heart of the righteous studies how to answer,
But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.

Proverbs 18:21

²¹ Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.

I want to give a fore warning, this first installment will have some words that should offend, but I know no other way to show them than to write them out. Here they are, sh*t, f*ck, b*tch, p*ss, *ss, and one I will not even type, but it is used so often, it is some peoples go to adjective and uses our Lord's name to describe their discontent.

I know George Carlin used these words in a comedy routine in the 70s, but there is nothing funny about where we are today. Why with all the words we have, not only in the English language, but all languages do we find the need to use these words? Do they make us feel more powerful, do we find them funny, do they make us feel smarter by being so eloquent with such language? I don't have the answers to these questions, merely questions myself.

In the coming weeks we are going to look at even more words and what they do and don't do for us, but this week listen to the conversations around you and see just how often these words are used, and what you think and feel as you hear them.