Do you struggle with words?
I know I do.
Even as an English major who hopes to build a career out of words, I still have difficulty figuring out how to use them well.
Exaggeration has gotten me into trouble in the past. I didn’t even realize I had theatrical tendencies until my significant other pointed out my proclivity to over-dramatize things when I’m emotional.
Do I know the meanings behind the words I use? Am I cognizant of how they affect others?
In Faulkner’s, “As I Lay Dying,” I was thoroughly fascinated by Addie Bundren’s perspective on words and how they work– or fail to work. Bundren felt that words were often disconnected from the realities they represented and incapable of illustrating the fullness of anything in life. In her first chapter, the words “don’t ever fit what they are trying to say,” she claimed, using motherhood as an example (As I Lay Dying, 171). She felt that the essence of her experiences as a mother could not be encapsulated in one measly word, clearly “invented by someone who had to have a word for it” (As I Lay Dying, 171). Words did more harm than good in her mind, offering false promises and imitating feelings and experiences that could not be expressed.
Addie’s opinions convicted me about the ways I use words. Are the things I say full of empty signs and signals, or do my “Yes’s mean Yes, and No’s mean No?” (Matthew 5:37).
In my Shakespeare class, we just recently finished reading King Lear. Dr. Strait’s question of whether or not we should mean what we say swirled around in my head as we analyzed the play. The power of words was particularly apparent in the scene where Lear asked each of his three daughters to express how much they loved him. Lear wanted his daughters to sweet talk him and puff up his ego to inherit part of his kingdom. Goneril and Regan immediately begin flattering and showering him with compliments, yet Cordelia, the youngest, says “nothing” (1.1.91). She claimed that she could not “heave her heart into her mouth” since words could never express her love for her father (1.1.94-95).
In the end, Cordelia was the only one who truly understood words. She knew in her heart that what we say is an extension of who we are and should reflect our hearts. Our words will never be enough to explain or define some parts of life, just like Addie realized after experiencing motherhood, yet they do impact others. They are meant to be used responsibly and with the utmost care because they reveal what we believe, value, and are passionate about.
How do you use words? Do they serve a purpose, or do they just take up space? Do you speak the truth that builds others up or tears them down?
At the end of King Lear, Edgar, son of the Earl of Gloucester, proclaims that we should “speak what we feel, not what we ought to say,” urging those around him to be sincere and responsible with their words (5.3.323–324). Our words have the ability to show who we are, as well as build up others. As Christians, we should always prioritize honesty and authenticity in our speech and wisdom and compassion.
Making mistakes, whether it be through mind-numbing negativity, hurtful gossip, or exaggerated complaining, comes with being human. Yet we all can use our words wisely. For some, that may mean encouraging a friend who’s down or being brutally honest, and for others, that may just mean being silent. Yet even with the stress of final exams on the horizon, I hope that all of us will remember the impact of our words this week and honor the Lord in everything we say.
