Words Matter

Do you play Wordle? We do. And we love words. But why do words matter? How do we fill our minds with good words and determine which ones aren't?

Resources:
Words the Hurt, Words that Heal
Switch on your brain - Dr. Caroline Leaf (check out her podcast here)
Thanks to Joyce Meyer for the list of truths about us from scripture.

@thisistrustworthy

trustworthypodcast.com

Email us listen@trustworthypodcast.com

Transcript

0.000000 2.920000 Is God trustworthy?
2.920000 7.120000 Hi, I'm Sarah and I'm Mary Beth.
7.120000 12.440000 Join us as we seek to answer this question through whole-hearted conversation.
12.440000 18.600000 Discover the wit and wisdom that comes from being anchored in Christ and connected to one another.
18.600000 21.360000 This is Trustworthy.
21.360000 37.500000 Well, hello there, Mary Beth.
37.500000 40.680000 Hello, it's 2025.
40.680000 41.680000 It is.
41.680000 44.160000 This is the first time we're recording in 2025.
44.160000 45.160000 2025.
45.160000 48.320000 Show me you're alive.
48.320000 52.960000 We're barely alive today.
52.960000 57.520000 I'm here talking about vertical and ventilating.
57.520000 58.520000 There we go.
58.520000 62.280000 One of my customers used to say, "How are you doing today?"
62.280000 63.280000 Vertical and ventilating.
63.280000 64.280000 I like it.
64.280000 67.040000 Have you played Wordle yet today, Sarah?
67.040000 75.160000 I have not played Wordle yet today, but I intend to do that soon, too sweet, probably
75.160000 77.200000 not while we're recording.
77.200000 78.200000 I appreciate that.
78.200000 79.200000 No problem.
79.200000 80.200000 That's a sign of respect.
80.200000 81.200000 Thank you.
81.200000 82.800000 I'm a big fan of Wordle.
82.800000 88.040000 I got way too deep in the, I guess this was, I can't remember when it came out.
88.040000 92.040000 They come out during the pandemic, hasn't been around that long.
92.040000 97.040000 Whenever they first started doing all the spin-offs of like quordle, octordle, right, I got
97.040000 98.040000 really into it.
98.040000 99.040000 I love connections, too.
99.040000 100.040000 Yeah, I do too.
100.040000 102.040000 I spent way too much time on them.
102.040000 105.440000 I had to scale way back.
105.440000 109.440000 But I love Wordle because I like words.
109.440000 110.440000 I do too.
110.440000 118.680000 Our listeners know that we like words because we say a lot of words, but not to impress people,
118.680000 121.880000 but merely for our own enjoyment, right?
121.880000 123.200000 And God's glory.
123.200000 128.920000 Thankfully God doesn't get sick of us saying words, hopefully, which is why we start a podcast
128.920000 130.920000 so we could say more words.
130.920000 136.760000 So tell me about your love of words, Sarah, what does that look like in your life?
136.760000 147.880000 When I was in school, I had an excellent editing, I, for all of my papers and things.
147.880000 151.600000 Sometimes I would help people edit their papers.
151.600000 152.600000 Huh?
152.600000 159.280000 I love the thesaurus to find different words at mean the same thing because even if they
159.280000 163.040000 mean the same thing, they give a sentence different flavor.
163.040000 167.600000 So I've always enjoyed synonyms and the use thereof.
167.600000 169.360000 I like to write.
169.360000 172.360000 I used to write a lot of poetry.
172.360000 178.440000 I've done at least one term paper as poetry.
178.440000 180.000000 Was that allowed?
180.000000 181.000000 My professor.
181.000000 183.000000 Was it English class?
183.000000 184.000000 Let me do that.
184.000000 186.240000 It was a religion class.
186.240000 191.240000 So it wasn't even something you would normally do, I don't even know where it is.
191.240000 193.440000 I don't know if I saved it or not.
193.440000 197.320000 I don't have a floppy disc reader anymore, which dates me.
197.320000 203.280000 I've always enjoyed words and word games, gravel, liars, yap, that's a made up game that
203.280000 205.160000 our family plays when we camp together.
205.160000 206.160000 Nice.
206.160000 207.160000 Using a Scrabble board.
207.160000 208.160000 Nice.
208.160000 209.160000 But anyway.
209.160000 210.160000 Yeah.
210.160000 213.160000 I mean, I think that, and you've mentioned several times on here, how much you love a dictionary
213.160000 214.160000 and you get it out.
214.160000 215.160000 I do.
215.160000 219.920000 But when I was growing up, I hated things like diagramming sentences and things like that
219.920000 220.920000 in English class.
220.920000 226.800000 But I was always a little bit of a grammar nerd and my brother and I took pleasure in pointing
226.800000 233.040000 out people's faulty grammar and then fast forward a few decades and now I'm in communications
233.040000 237.640000 and I do a lot of writing and editing and I had my sister gave me this little
237.640000 242.840000 thing that I had on my shelf in my office that said, I am silently correcting your grammar.
242.840000 246.040000 So people around me know that, that's how my brain operates.
246.040000 252.640000 It doesn't mean I have perfect grammar, but I'm usually aware of it when I see I'm about
252.640000 256.800000 to say mess up and I don't want to end the sentence with a preposition.
256.800000 259.000000 Oh, it's always in my brain.
259.000000 260.000000 But yes.
260.000000 267.800000 So I do like words and I wish that I was better at learning languages because I think I'd
267.800000 273.320000 probably enjoy that but I've never been quick on the uptake with other languages.
273.320000 280.960000 But anyway, all that to say were big fans of words in general and specifically.
280.960000 287.280000 But also we're talking about words today, why Sarah?
287.280000 290.320000 Because words matter, they do.
290.320000 296.920000 Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
296.920000 298.280000 you lie.
298.280000 300.280000 That's a lie.
300.280000 309.960000 The Bible says that in the tongue is the power of life and death and how it's like a horse
309.960000 316.280000 with a bit and a bridal, a ginormous animal can be moved with such a small thing and that's
316.280000 318.280000 how the tongue is.
318.280000 325.560000 It can reek havoc or it can build empires.
325.560000 337.680000 And as someone who values words and takes a big interest in them, I also am not great with
337.680000 342.720000 putting that bit in my mouth sometimes and controlling what I'm saying.
342.720000 346.680000 This podcast is taking a dark turn.
346.680000 353.200000 Well, so if we think about words in the big picture, where do they come from?
353.200000 355.520000 How are we experiencing them?
355.520000 356.400000 How are they getting in?
356.400000 358.760000 What are we putting in?
358.760000 363.880000 There's a wide variety of ways that things are entering our brain and our body in terms
363.880000 368.000000 of language and words.
368.000000 374.120000 And I think the question then becomes, how do we know if what we're putting in is valuable,
374.120000 376.760000 it's good for us, it's true.
376.760000 377.920000 Right.
377.920000 378.920000 Input equals output.
378.920000 379.920000 Yeah.
379.920000 380.920000 Our output equals input.
380.920000 392.480000 For I know in my life, I'm getting input from a wide variety of places, conversations
392.480000 399.680000 I'm having, things I'm reading, things I'm listening to, whatever is in my algorithm
399.680000 403.440000 on my social media feeds.
403.440000 408.320000 I mean, I have been influenced more times that I'd probably like to admit to buy products
408.320000 413.000000 because I read some really persuasive things about them.
413.000000 416.760000 What is it that we are doing with all of the input that's going in?
416.760000 418.040000 Is there a litmus test?
418.040000 424.440000 Is there anything we're doing to kind of determine what is true, what is good?
424.440000 431.200000 I heard an anecdote about a gentleman who would read the newspaper and his Bible every day,
431.200000 436.800000 so that he would be sure of who was winning.
436.800000 447.400000 And I chuckle, but I think that being in the word is so important.
447.400000 454.320000 It can be confusing to discern whether teaching is from God unless you're getting it from the
454.320000 455.320000 source.
455.320000 456.320000 Yeah.
456.320000 466.720000 I think of all of the times in Scripture that God tells us, meditate on my law, follow
466.720000 474.160000 my commands, bind these things in your, has I go bind it in your heart, write it on the
474.160000 475.720000 door frames of your house.
475.720000 483.520000 We are reminded over and over again in Scripture how important Scripture is and Scripture interprets
483.520000 484.520000 other Scripture.
484.520000 491.600000 And so I think of even in Deuteronomy in the Old Testament when God was giving this message
491.600000 496.240000 to his people about these commands that he is setting out for them.
496.240000 502.760000 He says, if this is Deuteronomy 11, verse 13, so if you faithfully obey the commands I'm giving
502.760000 506.360000 you today to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your
506.360000 509.040000 soul, then here comes the blessing.
509.040000 513.240000 Then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rain so that
513.240000 516.440000 you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil.
516.440000 519.200000 I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle.
519.200000 520.840000 You'll eat and be satisfied.
520.840000 527.600000 So speaking to all of the overflow of blessing that comes from following the words of the
527.600000 533.640000 Lord, but then he gives a warning to you, verse 16, "Be careful or you will be enticed
533.640000 538.160000 and turn away and worship other gods about down to them."
538.160000 542.520000 And this is actually the verse 18, "If I skip down, fix these words of mine in your hearts
542.520000 546.920000 and minds, tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads, teach them
546.920000 551.880000 to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road,
551.880000 555.160000 when you lie down and when you get up, write them on the door frames of your houses and
555.160000 560.440000 on your gates so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land.
560.440000 563.360000 The Lord swore to give your ancestors."
563.360000 569.440000 And to me, this passage is not a legalistic, mathematic equation of A plus B equals C. It's
569.440000 571.840000 not all the commands.
571.840000 573.760000 It will give you blessings and that's why we do it.
573.760000 582.600000 It is the grace and the beauty that God has given us, truth and the source of it.
582.600000 585.320000 And we can be easily swayed by the world around us.
585.320000 587.680000 We can worship false gods.
587.680000 593.800000 We can make idols out of a number of things in the world and that scripture is always there,
593.800000 598.720000 always available to us, bring this truth back and weave it into our lives.
598.720000 603.640000 That is how the input is going to be beneficial to us, is kind of taking different things
603.640000 609.680000 in and holding it up to that litmus test of what we know is God's truth, what we know
609.680000 613.660000 are His commands, what we know of who He is.
613.660000 618.920000 In Proverbs 4, 23, he says, "Guard your heart above all else," it determines of course
618.920000 619.920000 your life.
619.920000 626.840000 It's interesting that when Israel was to enter the Promised Land, God told them that they
626.840000 629.320000 had to make a clean slate.
629.320000 637.080000 They had to drive out all of the peoples that had been occupying the land because God
637.080000 647.960000 knew that that influence, the pagan worship, the child sacrifice, the temple prostitution,
647.960000 654.880000 all these things that these other peoples were practicing were evil.
654.880000 662.200000 And if they were not removed from the New Land, that there would be a chance that that influence
662.200000 664.480000 would corrupt.
664.480000 671.560000 And we know what happened, not every people was driven out of the New Land and corruption
671.560000 672.560000 happened.
672.560000 678.800000 So God knows that it is important to guard our heart and our mind.
678.800000 685.560000 Well, and there's different categories of things that are coming into our minds, right?
685.560000 693.000000 There's things that are just negative and tearing us down and we see that for what it is.
693.000000 698.040000 It might be messages that are just out there in society that you need to be better at this,
698.040000 699.800000 you need to look like this, whatever.
699.800000 707.240000 And there's messages that come in that seem right that make me think, "Oh, maybe that's
707.240000 708.240000 the truth."
708.240000 716.760000 That seems to make my life easier, but is it really good and true?
716.760000 724.480000 Or is it the world like lulling us into this dullness of awareness of righteousness?
724.480000 728.000000 And then there are things that really are, like we've been talking about, that really
728.000000 729.480000 are the truth, that really are good.
729.480000 733.600000 I'm going to throw a curve ball at you, Sarah, okay.
733.600000 738.120000 The Golden Globes were on recently, I don't know if you saw any of that coverage.
738.120000 742.840000  Demi Moore won her first Golden Globe ever.
742.840000 746.800000 This is part of her speech and I want to hear your reaction to it.
746.800000 752.960000 She said, "In those moments when we don't think we're smart enough or pretty enough or skinny
752.960000 758.800000 enough or successful enough or basically just not enough, I had a woman say to me, just
758.800000 764.840000 know you will never be enough, but you can know the value of your worth if you just put
764.840000 769.400000 down the measuring stick."
769.400000 780.160000 I think that that sounds like excellent advice and by many standards would be perfect, but
780.160000 783.320000 I would add something.
783.320000 790.840000 I would add put down your measuring stick and pick up God's.
790.840000 806.840000 Gods measuring stick says, "You cannot be in the presence of a holy God and I am going to
806.840000 817.000000 give you a chance to be in my presence by sending my son to sacrifice his life for you and
817.000000 828.040000 that through his sacrifice you may enter my presence and by the way, regardless of what
828.040000 838.000000 you've done or what you've said, what we're too used, I love you absolutely and I want to
838.000000 841.000000 be with you."
841.000000 849.360000 That when he looks at us, this concept of not measuring up, never being enough.
849.360000 856.280000 That he sees the righteousness of Christ, he sees the fulfilled perfection that is demanded
856.280000 859.280000 of us, but that we can never attain on our own.
859.280000 861.120000 Are we enough on our own?
861.120000 870.040000 No, but Christ power is made perfect in weakness, so us plus Christ equals enough.
870.040000 876.000000 So we were chatting before we started recording about kind of the practical, what does this
876.000000 877.640000 look like practically?
877.640000 881.600000 There was something you had read in a book just about how our mind works.
881.600000 882.600000 Yeah.
882.600000 892.120000 Over the years I've done various reading research studies about our minds, our mind body connection,
892.120000 900.360000 how we think about things, the words we use, positive self-talk, negative self-talk, all this
900.360000 902.080000 kind of stuff.
902.080000 906.560000 At one point I came across some information, it's in a book called "Switch on Your Brain"
906.560000 916.640000 by Dr. Carolyn Leif and she says that research shows that 75 to 98% of mental, physical and
916.640000 920.360000 behavioral illness comes from one's thought life.
920.360000 928.840000 Basically, what that means, Mary Beth, is that from two to 25% of mental and physical illness
928.840000 933.800000 comes from genetics, environment and so on.
933.800000 943.640000 Now stress is a big factor, a lot of mental illness, behavioral, physical comes from stress,
943.640000 950.960000 but the thought life goes along with the stress, so how we process stress is in our mind.
950.960000 961.040000 And that's a staggering statistic, I mean that is overwhelmingly, at least 75% is what
961.040000 962.040000 that's saying.
962.040000 963.040000 Yeah, let's just go on the low side.
963.040000 964.040000 Let's go on the conservative side.
964.040000 965.040000 At least 75% of it.
965.040000 973.320000 Three-fourths of our problems are because of the thoughts that are in our mind.
973.320000 980.800000 And so if that is true, we want to be on guard for what we're letting in.
980.800000 982.480000 And so I think it's, how do we do that?
982.480000 983.480000 What are the habits?
983.480000 988.920000 How do we kind of reframe our mental thought life?
988.920000 989.920000 How do we do that?
989.920000 992.480000 It's a good question.
992.480000 1001.000000 When I set out to solve a problem, I like to clear off the table, both physically and
1001.000000 1002.000000 mentally.
1002.000000 1008.200000 You're going to bake a cake, for example, if you start with a cluttered countertop and
1008.200000 1012.960000 dirty dishes, it's very hard to do.
1012.960000 1022.960000 So what I, in answer to this question, I'd like to clear my mental table and add the
1022.960000 1030.880000 ingredients that will actually solve the problem.
1030.880000 1035.360000 So I'm going to start out with the basic truth.
1035.360000 1036.360000 There's a God.
1036.360000 1039.080000 I'm not him.
1039.080000 1045.800000 And that leads me to there is someone that made me whose ways are higher than my ways and
1045.800000 1048.520000 thoughts are higher than my thoughts.
1048.520000 1052.400000 And I don't measure up to him, but what a relief.
1052.400000 1057.920000 That means I don't have to have all the answers, but I have a source that I can go to.
1057.920000 1066.440000 So I start there and then maybe I add in some really good wisdom.
1066.440000 1074.480000 Can turn to, I like to turn to the proverbs, a lot of wisdom that we see in the world stems
1074.480000 1082.880000 from these original writings from Solomon and perhaps some others.
1082.880000 1087.720000 And so I think of things like, there's wisdom in a multitude of counselors.
1087.720000 1093.480000 So if I'm going to make a decision, I start to bring in some trusted advisors, multitude,
1093.480000 1095.960000 that doesn't mean too.
1095.960000 1100.920000 It's a, I think, I think that gives license to research very bad.
1100.920000 1103.640000 Another thing we like, that's another topic.
1103.640000 1112.840000 And then I'm going to look for specific advice from these counselors.
1112.840000 1120.000000 From God's word, that pertain to the issue that I'm facing.
1120.000000 1129.680000 One of my tools is a topical search of the Bible, could be done through a app on your phone,
1129.680000 1137.000000 could be done with a good Thompson chain reference Bible, could be done with a good commentary,
1137.000000 1140.200000 be a good study Bible.
1140.200000 1141.720000 And so I'll start adding those things in.
1141.720000 1146.720000 I love the spiral bound index card.
1146.720000 1147.840000 I just love that.
1147.840000 1149.840000 You can prop them up.
1149.840000 1155.680000 I like writing on heavier card stock, just putting that stuff down, those promises.
1155.680000 1164.880000 Because I say there is value in visually seeing the words and just retot in school writing
1164.880000 1168.880000 things down as a way or typing them up or saying them out loud.
1168.880000 1174.200000 All these things are ways to ingrain it into your brain and your memory.
1174.200000 1182.460000 And I've been aware, especially more the past couple of years, guys like John Mark Comer
1182.460000 1189.280000 and Justin Whitmel Earley, who we've mentioned before on the podcast, are big teachers of how
1189.280000 1194.840000 habits can form and shape all of who we are.
1194.840000 1201.160000 So one of the spiritual disciplines Justin talks about is scripture before phone every day,
1201.160000 1204.400000 that before you pick up your phone, before you look at anything else that's happening,
1204.400000 1209.780000 your calendar, your email, whatever it is, even if it's just one verse, like get into
1209.780000 1213.760000 scripture before you get on your phone and start with that one habit and then you just
1213.760000 1222.600000 build, you know, and it's not to be these rote very specifically legalistic life.
1222.600000 1224.320000 It's not what those habits result in.
1224.320000 1230.520000 The habits actually result in more wisdom, more freedom, a lighter load that you're carrying.
1230.520000 1235.280000 Once you start to establish, you know, something as simple as that as scripture before phone,
1235.280000 1240.400000 you know, John Mark Comer has teaching series on what this can look like in various areas,
1240.400000 1243.360000 various areas of your life.
1243.360000 1250.760000 And that by building the habits, that's how we are filtering what's coming in.
1250.760000 1254.480000 And then we also need to talk, I think, for a minute on what's going out.
1254.480000 1259.080000 What are the words that are coming out of us into the world, into those around us?
1259.080000 1266.720000 Speaking of writing words down and cementing them into your memory.
1266.720000 1271.360000 When I was a child, I had a penmanship class.
1271.360000 1279.800000 And I memorized this little poem because it was in my penmanship book.
1279.800000 1294.000000 I will now recite it, a wise old owl sat in an oak, the more he saw, the less he spoke,
1294.000000 1302.720000 the less he spoke, the more he heard, why can't we be like that wise old bird?
1302.720000 1311.060000 This goes right along with my family's memory verse for this month from James about being
1311.060000 1317.280000 quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.
1317.280000 1323.080000 I am not at all surprised that that is our verse this month and it tied into this discussion.
1323.080000 1324.080000 No.
1324.080000 1327.760000 Neither am I.
1327.760000 1333.500000 Any final thoughts on, so we talked a lot about kind of what's coming in and how do we determine
1333.500000 1338.440000 that and filling ourselves up with scripture and the truth of the Lord.
1338.440000 1344.520000 I was reminded earlier of what my grandmother used to say, garbage in, garbage out.
1344.520000 1350.320000 The positive of that would be, if we're filling ourselves up with things that are true,
1350.320000 1354.360000 that should be spilling out into the lives of those around us.
1354.360000 1359.840000 I love the verse in Luke, Luke 6:45, a good man brings good things out of the good stored
1359.840000 1365.180000 up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.
1365.180000 1367.880000 For the mouth speaks with the heart is full of.
1367.880000 1373.920000 There's a book I read as a teenager I've mentioned in a previous episode.
1373.920000 1376.340000 It's a, it's set up like a devotional.
1376.340000 1381.840000 It's called words that hurt, words that heal, and it was very helpful to me as a teenager,
1381.840000 1388.480000 just to think about, really just to stop and think before you speak, is the main part
1388.480000 1389.480000 of it.
1389.480000 1396.220000 But think about how our words going out are helping or hurting those around us.
1396.220000 1401.240000 And I would recommend that book to anybody that might struggle like I do with being a little
1401.240000 1404.400000 more blunt and quick to speak.
1404.400000 1412.120000 It's just a helpful, again, a discipline I have based in Scripture to speak truth and
1412.120000 1413.320000 life-giving words.
1413.320000 1416.640000 Just to close this out.
1416.640000 1425.920000 I have a few words to share, some words of promise from God.
1425.920000 1430.600000 I am loved by God.
1430.600000 1435.480000 I am strong in the Lord and the power of his might.
1435.480000 1442.280000 I do not have a spirit of fear but have power, love, and a sound mind.
1442.280000 1450.080000 I can let go of what lies behind me and press on towards the things ahead.
1450.080000 1453.560000 I am alive and Christ.
1453.560000 1457.680000 I am free from the law of sin and death.
1457.680000 1463.920000 I have peace that passes all understanding.
1463.920000 1469.040000 I have received a spirit of wisdom.
1469.040000 1475.880000 I am a new creature in Christ.
1481.320000 1484.920000I am a joint heir of Christ.
1484.920000 1489.280000  I lack nothing for my God supplies all of my needs according to His riches and glory. 
1489.280000 1496.360000 Our hope is that those words will sink into our own hearts and minds and yours as well.
1496.360000 1507.080000 And then as you mull words today, that whatever is true
1507.080000 1515.700000 and noble and right and pure and lovely and admirable, we would all think about those things.
1515.700000 1520.600000 Amen.
1520.600000 1532.000000 Hey y'all, Mary Beth here.
1532.000000 1535.720000 Sarah and I are so glad that you chose to listen to our podcast.
1535.720000 1540.800000 And while we think that we're awesome friends to have, we just wanted to clarify that we are
1540.800000 1544.800000 not mental health professionals and want you to know that this podcast should not take
1544.800000 1547.680000 the place of any paid professional advice.