03 Feb Guest Editorial

Comforting words, angry words, loving words, stupid words, courteous words, entreating words, demanding words, insulting words – what a variety of words we use in our interaction with others! Words define one’s character. The words we speak can either ‘make’ or ‘break’ a person. The Psalmist says: “Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord” (Ps.139:5). That cautions us about the choice of words we use daily. The pen is mightier than the sword is a familiar saying. The same is true
of the spoken word, too. “Words are like eggs dropped from great heights; you can no more call them back than ignore the mess they leave when they fall,” says a renowned sage. According to Mary E. Pearson, “words have longer lives than people” and hence one has to be doubly cautious about the usage of words.

But many times, we knowingly or unknowingly, use the improper words at proper times. How many times have we cursed under our breath in a fit of anger? The wrong use of words in day-to-day context – as when we drive on the road, or when a subordinate irritates us, or when our children or siblings do not do as we desire – results in losing our testimony. The God-given gift of the gab should always be used positively to communicate the message of God’s love in season and out of season.  Charles Swindoll, in one of his books says that words are very important because Gospel is believed only when words, both written and spoken, have communicated the Gospel.

This issue of Campus Link contains a variety of insights about the power of words. While Dr Bonnie urges one to speak up, Pradeep asks us to shut up and use words appropriately. While words are very powerful according to the former, silence is equally powerful according to the latter. The article on ‘WoM and eWoM’ by Joy teaches us how words can be used to communicate the Gospel in this tech-savvy world. In the New Year 2014, let us make a covenant with our tongues and dedicate them with a prayer “Lord, give me wisdom to utter right words in the right place and at the right time. Let my words ‘make’ people and not ‘break’ people. Amen.”

Dr A. Samuel Richard

Publisher, Campus Link & Chairman, UESI PT