For March 20, 2026
Word Power by Greg Holmes, D.MIN – Director of Missions serving 17 churches
AN INSTRUCTIVE CHILDREN’S English-language nursery rhyme is meant to guard the center of emotions from criticism and insult. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words shall never hurt me!” We know that this is patently untrue from personal experience. We have all been wounded by words, and we have all been encouraged by words. Words have power. Words convey not just meaning, but relational attitudes of acceptance or rejection, approval or condemnation. Scripture tells us that “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Prov. 18:21) Words, once spoken, enter the aether that flows between souls, and become forces that shape relationships and destinies. Words are the keys that open or shut the doors between the parallel universes of self and others. The thoughts of the children’s rhyme reach a hard-earned maturity later in life, with this anecdotal bit of wisdom: “I’m careful of the words I speak; I keep them soft, and sweet. For I never know, from day to day, which ones I’ll have to eat.”