To Speak Life...

I don't know how many times I've heard someone say, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

Great idea...but how does that fit with reality?

What does it mean to be nice anyway?  To say what people want to hear?  To smile politely when we feel like screaming in frustration?  Not being honest about who you are and what you see doesn't seem like a very positive way to live.  Nice seems flat to me...I want to be the person that challenges someone to dig for their dreams and chase after them.  Be there to wipe away tears and help them up when they fall, and then urge them to keep on running!

But that push and challenge sometimes comes out wrong.  And then there are the times that my words are painting a picture of who I think someone else wants me to be when really all they want is for me to be honest about who I am.  These words, that once escaped my lips have spoken of prejudice, cruelty, hatred, jealousy, pride, and insecurity....and have proceeded to wound others and even sometimes boomerang back to diminish myself.

I want to be able to step back from the thoughtless speech I am guilty of and say things that speak of the truth about my weaknesses and of a love that can never be earned.  A love that accepts me as I am and dreams with me about how I could be.

I have come to believe that there may be a better way to word this sentiment that speaks to the truth that our words are powerful and they should be carefully chosen....a phrase that we tried to live out during my time in Cambodia and Bali, and that I have been thinking about a lot lately:

 Speak life.

If each day I focused on these two words, maybe I would be able to express something greater than my own small mind.

But wait a minute, what does it mean to speak "life" anyway?  Part of who I am needs to understand what I am committing myself to before I jump in with both feet. So the first thing I did was look the word "life" up in the dictionary...online of course because I'm lazy...and let me tell you, there were a lot of definitions.  Some words that popped up multiple times were "animate" and "spirit" and the idea that life is part of a bigger whole...but I still didn't really feel like I understood what it meant to actually speak life, so I kept looking...

Once again, because I'm lazy I let my search engine do the work...this time in a digital bible.  I found A LOT of references to life which I tried to piece together...recording all the words that were associated with life. I included that exploration at the bottom of this post if you are interested, but after reading all that, I still had not found the answer to my question....in fact I found myself just as confused as before.  So I read through my notes and one particular passage stuck out to me--John 1:1-4

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  he was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

After reading it again, it was like a lightbulb went off: speaking life is creation.  Creation of something that God said over and over was "good."  Not nice...good (see Genesis 1).

But the word creation had some connotations of debate for me which I didn't think led me to the same idea.  It seemed more like an absolute, and not a continuum of speech....that was when I started to think about a related word: creativity.  Creativity is alive and dynamic!  It never gives up and it builds and improves with the input of others.  Creativity seeks solutions to unsolvable dilemmas and has an energy that brings joy to a room. It requires a constant flow of energy to renew it which I always imagine to be like water flowing into a pool that is constantly overflowing.  And this I think is the key...the need for a constant flow of energy that cannot be sustained by an individual, is the how to speaking life.  I need to ask for help outside myself, whether it be from God or from a trusted source, to fan the flame or feed the fire (just throwing another metaphor in there for good measure).

What is my take-home-message after my personal investigation?  Two things:

• Speaking life should bring joy, and seek solutions instead of causing pain and pointing out problems.
• To speak life, I will need to let go of my pride in my independence and find ways to be encouraged and filled up myself.

I asked myself after I wrote this...was this ramble just for me, or should I post it....and I thought why not share it so let me know if you found it interesting/helpful...and as always I love to get updates on what life as you know it is so please stay in touch!

My Word Study on "Life" through the Bible (NIV)

The references to life start in Genesis...all the plants, animals and humans possess the breath of life.  I found out it's something that belongs to an individual; something that can be taken or chosen, a thing that can be governed or renewed, sustained and valued, saved or purchased, respected and enjoyed, despised or cursed, guarded and loved, given or spared, redeemed and protected, lost or found, restored and cared for, entered and inherited, demanded, won, or imparted.

I found out life is limited by time: it has a beginning and an end.  It is fleeting and lasts "but a breath" as Job 7:7 says, but can be held by God (Job 12:10) and even constantly by us (Psalm 119:109).

It can also be a light, a path, a gift, a fountain, grass, a tree, an ornament to grace your neck, a way, a book, a crown, a witness, bread and water.

Things can even "come to" life!

Life is something of great value for it seems to have the highest cost, but we shouldn't worry about it (Matthew 6:27).

It "does not consist in an abundance of possessions" Luke 12:15.

Life can be new, old, eternal, everyday, holy, quiet, godly, and sinful.

Paul speaks a bit about life and words in his letter to the Philippians: "Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life" (2:15-16).