The Power of Words

Forget the old rhyme about sticks and stones— your words can leave marks we carry for years.  Words matter; in fact, they carry the power of life and death. Drawing from Proverbs 18:21 and Ephesians 4:29, we walk through the real stakes of using careless words: blessing or cursing, building up or tearing down, soothing a situation or inflaming it. Along the way, we unpack negativity bias—the brain’s tilt toward the harsh and the hurtful—and show how a specific word choice can counterbalance that pull.

You’ll hear a simple story about a compliment that changed a teenager’s day and why small, truthful affirmations carry outsized power. 

We close with Colossians 4:6 as a guide for wholesome conversations.  Start today by choosing words that promote life and well-being.  If something here helped, subscribe, share the show, and text us what’s on your heart so we can keep walking this road together.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Do Words Really Hurt?
• 0:27 The Power of the Tongue
• 1:32 Blessing or Cursing with Words
• 2:18 Negativity Bias Explained
• 2:41 Christian Response: Build Others Up
• 3:04 A Compliment That Gave Life
• 4:20 Scriptures to Practice and Pray
• 5:20 Grace-Filled Speech and Closing

Transcript

Do Words Really Hurt?

Constance 0:00

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me. That's an old nursery rhyme that used to be repeated a lot when I was a child. A comeback when someone says something hurtful to you or about you. A way to say your words have no impact on me. But is that true? Because we know words do have an impact. In fact, the Bible says the tongue has the power of life and death. You're listening to Wholeheart Conversations, a podcast especially for women, to receive biblical encouragement that fosters resilience through the practical application of God's Word. I'm your host, Constance Lavonice. Proverbs chapter 18, verse 21 says, the tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. That's the New International Version. And I also like the New American Standard Bible, which states, Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. This tells you that there's power in your words. Your words can either bless someone or curse someone, encourage or discourage, beat down or build up, soothe a situation or inflame a situation, bring peace or chaos, injure or heal. It can bring life or death. Life is peace, encouragement, life promotes growth. Life is helpful to your well-being. On the other hand, words that speak death are destructive, unhelpful to someone's well-being. There's a term called the negativity bias. It basically means that negative experiences and words have a greater impact than positive experiences on a person's psychological being. The negative experiences or words tend to stand out more and affect us more. So how are we to respond as Christians with our words? Ephesians chapter 4, verse 29 tells us to do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up. And this reminds me of an experience that I had when I was sitting at a table with two other women, and one of the women, an elderly woman, or she was an elder to us, saw a teenage girl walking by. Thank you so much. I'm just starting to accept my hair as it is. And she was so happy to have been complimented. She walked away with a big smile on her face. And that's what we should do as Christians. Our words should promote life and growth and contribute to positive well-being. So starting today, notice your choice of words and choose words that promote life with your inner self as well as when you're speaking to others. So I want you to this week read Proverbs 18, verse 21, and Ephesians chapter 4, verse 29, and ask God to show you how to apply these verses to your life. I also want to leave you with Colossians chapter 4 verse 6. Let your conversations be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. That's my prayer for you going forward. And if you've heard anything helpful, please subscribe and share and send the show a text to let me know what's on your heart.