The Power of Words: May 28th Devotional

The Power of Words

Proverbs 18:21

May 28th Devotional

      Noah Webster was born in 1758, in Hartford Connecticut. His family had a rich pedigree in American history. Noah excelled at learning and entered Yale University at the age of 15. His father mortgaged their home to send him to college. While learning at Yale Noah joined the Connecticut militia. Upon graduation, Noah took the Bar examination and became a lawyer but despised practicing law. He quickly spiraled into a deep depression until he started working in the newspaper industry. He was eventually asked by Alexander Hamilton to be the editor of the Pro Revolutionary newspaper called the Federalist. Webster was an adamant supporter of the revolution. Over time he became an advocate for public education. He became a teacher and eventually printed the Blue Backed Speller which would be the best-selling book used by teachers (selling over 100 million copies). He also served in the Connecticut House of Representatives along with other ventures into printing but his Magnum Opus was the American Dictionary in the English Language. He started the project in 1802 and it took him 26 years to complete. During this time Webster learned over 28 languages. His dictionary had over 70,000 words, 12,000 of which had never been published in a dictionary before. His dictionary was not the first of its kind but was the most complete and scholarly work. Tragically it only sold 2500 copies and he needed to mortgage his home to produce a second edition. Webster struggled financially most of his life and by the end of his life, he was destitute.

      Webster spent his entire life studying the etymology of words, dedicating himself to understanding what they mean. Webster understood the value and power of words, and the Bible speaks about the power of words too. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 18:21 "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits." You've heard the proverbial phrase "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." That statement is rife with errors on so many different levels. Words do hurt, sometimes more than a physical wound, and take longer to heal. Words that hurt are often spoken by people that we love and care about. The words we speak can either be a construction crew building people up, or a destruction crew, destroying other people. Words have the power of life and death. Examine the words you have spoken so far today, are they construction and life-giving? Or are they destroying and bringing death? Today, purposefully speak words of life to EVERYONE around you, regardless of who they are.

A Tongue on Fire: January 2nd Devotional

A Tongue on Fire

January 2nd Devotional

James 3:1-12
 

      On this day in 1906 thirty-year-old, Willis Carrier was awarded the first ever patent for what we would now call Air Conditioning.  Willis was born in Angola New York in 1876 and would go on to graduate with an Electrical Engineering degree from Cornell University.  Right after college, he joined the Buffalo Forge Company, a company that specialized in blacksmithing, drilling equipment, steam engines, and pumps.  It didn’t take Carrier very long to become the chief engineer of the company.  One foggy day in 1902 Carrier was standing on a train platform in Pittsburgh when an idea came to him on how to control the relative humidity in the air.  He busily started to sketch, plan, and build.  His invention was a success and was quickly installed at the Buffalo Forge company along with countless other businesses.  The Buffalo Forge Company allowed him to create another branch of their company specifically focused on manufacturing his air conditioning units but Carrier broke away in 1915 to create the Carrier Corporation.  His business thrived until the great depression struck.  Many residential homes simply could not afford the luxury of air conditioning but all of that changed in the 1950s.  The installation of Air Conditioning units started to become the norm in the post-WW II era.  It’s hard for many of us to imagine a world where there was no air conditioning.  It’s hard to fathom not having the ability to hit the dial and lower the temperature during those hot summer days.  Try to envision going shopping with no AC, working with no AC, having a car with no AC, going to school with no AC, to go to a movie theater with no AC.  We might not be cranking the air conditioner on during most January days but in a few months we will be grateful for that cool air.  I for one am grateful for the “Father of Air conditioning.”  

      Some of you can recall a time when your air conditioner wasn’t working.  Your AC never quits on the coolest day of the year, but instead, it always seems to give out on the hottest day.  The Bible talks about staying cool when times are hot too.  James in 3:1-12 speaks a lot about the tongue.  He makes it clear that our tongue is a small part of our body but it can get us into A LOT of trouble.  It’s hard to control the tongue, especially when emotions flare up.  When anxiety, stress, and anger strike us we typically lose our cool and our tongue becomes a burning fire.  As a matter of fact, James 3:6 says “And the tongue is a fire.”  How is the tongue like a fire?  Like a fire, our tongues can burn and damage other people.  We would hate to see how many people and how many times our tongue has done damage.  We would be despondent to realize how many times we failed to encourage someone, love someone, or build someone up.  How many times have we been overly critical of someone?  How many times have we failed to compliment our spouse or lift up our child?  Our tongues can burn and defile other people.  We need to be resolved that when the heat rises around us that not just cooler heads but cooler tongues need to prevail.