War of Words

“When you talk, do not say harmful things, but say what people need — words that will help others become stronger. Then what you say will do good to those who listen to you.”

– Ephesians 4:29

It’s been 40 long years since the creation of the internet. But according to an IBM Marketing Cloud study, 90% of the data you’ll find on it was created relatively recently: after 2016. Google, which is a major source of this information, processes over 40,000 search queries each second.

That’s over 3.5 billion searches per day or 1.2 trillion searches per year. And the Library of Congress, America’s storehouse of books, maps, photographs, films, audio and video recordings, has well over 15 terabytes of data. How is mankind making the most of this ever-growing mountain of knowledge? One comedian has quipped that we’re using it to trade cat videos and argue with strangers. 

That amusing observation is not far from the mark — especially the part about arguing. It’s yet another symptom of society’s growing lack of civility and not-so-common decency. One reason is that the anonymity of social media has made it easy for so-called keyboard commandos to defame or otherwise tear down others without the fear of repercussion. What's more, things that we wouldn’t dare say to someone’s face can be conveyed online. In person or in cyberspace, words matter … and they can hurt and cause immense damage.

In the New Testament book that bears his name, James, the half-brother of Jesus, taught much the same lesson about the incredible power of the human tongue. While only a small part of the body, our tongues have the ability to change lives: to uplift and destroy, and bless and curse.

We know this all too well through our life experiences. How many times have we uttered something inappropriate — or maybe downright mean-spirited — that seemed to come out of nowhere? Communicating the wrong thing at the wrong moment to the wrong person has cost people their careers, marriages and reputations. And the sad fact is that our words (written or uttered) reveal what we really think deep down inside. They’re a reflection of our heart.

Back in World War II, the U.S. Government printed posters with the headline, Loose Lips Sink Ships. The message was that spies can pick up careless — although seemingly innocent — gossip about Allied troop movements, ship launches and other secret information. And when such information reaches the enemy’s ears, the result is often carnage, death and destruction. Likewise, all Christ-followers must watch their tongues (and their keyboards) to avoid causing needless, irreparable damage to relationships and reputations. Let’s take the time to rediscover the lost art of civility.