By Mary Morrell
Freelance columnist
Spelling out the truth about words
A good person, out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks. — Luke 6:45
Some years ago, while engaged in one of my favorite pastimes of wandering the aisles of a local bookstore, I came upon a small book about the power of words to hurt or heal.
Being in the bargain book aisle, I felt no need to rationalize my purchase and set off for home, looking forward to a big cup of tea and an hour of reading before bed.
The book began with a famous tale of a man who went through the community slandering the rabbi of a small town. One day remorse came over him and he begged the rabbi for forgiveness. The man offered to undergo any necessary penance to make amends. The rabbi instructed him to take a feather pillow from his house, open it and scatter the feathers to the wind. Then, he could return to see the rabbi.
The man did as he was told and then came to the rabbi asking, “Am I now forgiven?”
“Almost,” the rabbi answered. “You just have to do one more thing — go and gather up all the feathers.”
“That’s impossible,” the man complained. “The wind has already scattered them.”
“Of course,” answered the rabbi. “And though you truly want to correct the wrong you have done, it is as impossible to repair the damage done by your words as it is to gather up those feathers.”
I recalled that story today, when near the end of a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration, a friendly game of checkers between one of my sons and his girlfriend turned into a painful exchange of hurtful words. The game had only been the trigger for larger, more important issues that were nagging at both of them, but both had chosen reactions — and words — that would undoubtedly be the basis of some painful memories.
For them, the blessings of the day would be overshadowed by words that would linger in the heart for a long time to come, words made even more painful by the fact that they came from someone loved and trusted.
Young as they were, they did not yet fully understand the ability of words, whether healing or hurtful, to take root in the heart and bear fruit for years to come.
The story of the man and the rabbi imparts more than the lesson that words can hurt. It relays the important truth that words have a power all their own and the effects are far-reaching.
Just look around at what is — all of it brought into being by God, who said, “Let there be . . .” and there was — life in all its forms and with all it needs to thrive. But only humankind was given a share in the power of words.
Words create, for good or for ill.
Surely, the psalmist understood this well when he wrote his prayer, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
We would be wise to make it our own.
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law