Words Matter


Yesterday was an extremely lazy day for me.  

The snow was falling, the sky was gray, it was cold outside - and I honestly didn't do a whole lot.  I DID however, binge watch a show that came out last year called TRAITORS.

Like so many others, this one was reality TV where folks agreed to go to Scotland and spend time in a castle playing a game where they were pitted against one another for the chance to win a portion of $250,000.  

The premise was simple.  On the first night of the game they were chosen by the producers to either be one of the "faithful", or a "traitor".  Each night, those labeled traitors had the opportunity to "murder" someone - causing that person to have to leave the game.  And each night everyone (traitors and faithful) banded together so they could attempt to "banish" one of the traitors by voting them out.  At the end - those banished revealed whether they were part of the faithful or one of the traitors.

Finally, at the end - if the faithful had managed to sleuth out all of the traitors, those left would split the money.  But if any traitors were left - the money would go to the traitors.

In this first season of the show - there were three traitors, and 15 faithful.

Where things got interesting - at least from my point of view - was in the producers choice of the labels for each of the teams.  For as the game progressed, players really DID start to see people as either "faithful"(someone who was loyal and steadfast, good and wholesome), or as a "traitor" (someone who would betray friends, countries, or all moral decency and honor)...forgetting, it seemed, that they ALL were playing a game to win money, and forgetting, it seemed that the decision of what "team" to play for was assigned.

The reunion episode was a fiery one, because people felt hurt and betrayed by those they'd trusted in the game.   And unlike every other reality show - those labels of "faithful" and "traitor" seemed to have a huge weight attached to them, for people really did see those who had been chosen to be traitors AS TRAITORS.

And I concluded WORDS MATTER.

The Bible says that "words have the power of life and death".  That means we must choose our words carefully, for words can bind people up in lies that were never meant to define them.

Ephesians 4:29 states, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

And Proverbs 15:4 tells us, "The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit."

Today, this reality TV show has me thinking about the words I use when I'm in conversations with, my husband, my family, my friends, and my acquaintances and hoping that the Holy Spirit will continue His work in me to let my "speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you/(I) may know how to answer each person." - Colossians 4:6

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