THE POWER OF WORDSPrøve

My working life is all about words…after all I am a Chief Communications Officer. I spend my days crafting words on a laptop; speaking words via Zoom. Clearly now, in this context, my words matter. They matter because I am a senior member of staff. People look to me for guidance, as a role model, as their manager or maybe as a mentor. Do I live up to those expectations? My words matter. But so too does my tone, my body language, my demeanour, my consistency. How do I balance grace with salt as required? Do we place more importance on some people’s words than others? In our celebrity culture, words uttered by the latest ‘influencer’ possibly carry more weight than they deserve. Sadly, the words of experts don’t carry the weight we would hope they would. We see our pastor’s words as carrying authority and counsel. However, we must not under-estimate the power of our own words. Question: Have you considered the power of your own voice? Who is influenced by your words? Prayer God of the universe, give me your wisdom so that I may know how I ought to answer each person. May I always be gracious, even when salt is needed. Help me to value each person equally and honour them in my speech and actions.