Easter. The most powerful season of all.  I recognize a brewing sense of anticipation with the day approaching that we as believers celebrate as the hub of our faith.  Death is powerful.  No mere human has ever overcome it on his own.  Jesus calls Himself …The Life.  More powerful than death.  Proverbs 4:23 tells us that the power of life and death is in the tongue.  I remember when I first came across this verse and was hit with the reality of the power of my words.  I thought, “Every word that I say is either speaking life or speaking death on someone.”  (This was my own personal realization so don’t get hung up on the “every word” part of my thought.  I try not to use superlatives like “every” and “never” but inasmuch as I am reporting an event in my life, that was indeed my thought.)

We are a habitation, a dwelling place, of the Most High God (I Cor. 3:16, II Cor. 6:16) and He spoke things that were not as though they were (Romans 4:17).  This means, that I have the power of life and death in my tongue.  It means that I want to be deliberate about the words that I speak, to intentionally water those around me with the Water of Life.  It also means that I want to pay attention to every word that comes out of my mouth, to run it through the filter of, “Is this going to produce Life or Death in the hearer?”  Is it generating Life or Death in my son, my husband, my co-worker?  In me?!  What words do you say to yourself?  Start paying attention.

When I first became of aware of this (over 25 years ago at this point) I was getting around in social settings “including family time” by using sarcasm.  When I started listening to myself, I realized how much Death I was speaking on others and myself just so that I could feel accepted by having something witty to say and having people laugh at my words.  When I slowed down and really listened, I realized that that the “wit” was always at someone’s expense.  I wasn’t funny; I was dangerous.  I committed to myself that I would stop using my tongue to spread Death and intentionally use my words to speak and spread Life.  Let me tell you, if I thought I was boring before, I was REALLY boring now!  All I was spreading now was silence!

Eventually, I began to interject a comment here and there, like, “I value your cheerful spirit,” (if it was true!) or, “You are a blessing to our family.”  “I’m thankful to be your wife.”  “Thank you for being responsible to get up every morning.” (If the person in your life has difficulty getting up every morning, you can try a word of Life like, “I believe it is the desire of your heart to be a good provider.”)  “I value your gift of organizing and I benefit from it.”  “Truly, God has given you a sensitive spirit and I am touched by it.”  I noticed that instead of hearing shallow laughter that someone paid for I was seeing glimpses of something deeper, a spark. The eyes speak.  They do seem to be the windows of the soul because when the heart is touched, the eyes tell it.

This Easter, as you celebrate the power of Jesus Christ conquering death and the grave, think about the power that you have to deliberately speak Life into your family and friends that will help them conquer the Death that they may have received earlier from someone, whether intentionally or unintentionally.