Rachel Scott (rachelschallenge.org)
As a writer, I often think about the power of words.
My day job is to cover news and events in the Keller school district for the Keller Citizen and the Star-Telegram. On Friday, I went to Timberview Middle School in Fort Worth for “Rachel’s Challenge” a global anti-bullying campaign started by the family of Rachel Scott, the first person killed in the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School.
Like “The Diary of Anne Frank,” the words Rachel wrote in her journals, and in a school essay, are reaching millions of people. Her plea to “start a chain reaction of kindness” lives on. Judging by the tears and compassion I saw from young teens on Friday as they hugged each other and passed out Kleenex, Rachel’s message made a difference.
One of the key parts of Rachel’s Challenge to teens is to “speak with kindness.” As the presenter talked about the power of words, how a criticism can crush and a compliment can uplift, I thought of the phrase “speak life.”
Snippets of the song “Speak Life” started to go through my head, and when I tweeted about Rachel’s Challenge, I typed #speaklife. I wasn’t super familiar with the song but had heard it a number of times on the radio.
The following morning as I went over my notes and finished writing my story on Rachel’s Challenge, I read “words can hurt or heal.” Again, “Speak life” was running through my brain. You know, like when you can’t get a song out of your head and it starts to get a bit annoying?
I finished my story and put on my running clothes. I didn’t want to run far, and since I needed the extra motivation of a scenic route, I decided to hop in the car with my ever-eager running buddy, Elektra, and take a five-minute drive to a nearby park with awesome trails. What came on the radio as I pulled out of my neighborhood? You guessed it, Tobymac’s “Speak Life.” I didn’t even know it was a Tobymac song until I got home and looked it up on YouTube.
You are so funny, God! Just in case I wanted to ignore it, He wanted to make sure I got the message. Speak Life. As I began to run with my crazy canine companion, I thought about God’s call to Speak Life is also a call on my life to Write Life.
God wants us to Speak Life because He has given us “the message of reconciliation:”
18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
– 1 Corinthinas 5:18-20
The Bible is chock full of commands, warnings, and promises surrounding the words we speak. I Googled “Bible verses on the power of words” and was rewarded/humbled with a “Top 100” list.
First, Proverbs 18:21 reminded me “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Second was “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”- Eph. 4:29.
Words matter. How can you Speak Life to someone who needs to hear it today?