Words Are Permanent

I’ve often thought how wonderful it would be to have money—lots and lots of it—enough to endow professorial chairs at my alma mater and build churches and support medical research and feed the hungry children of the world. There are many reasons why people would want to fund projects like those just mentioned. Some want to honor family members or friends with their gifts. Some want to be recognized as a benefactor by their community and by society in general. Some want to leave a memorial to themselves. Some simply want to do as much good as they can. But all of us, even ordinary people without a whole lot of money and whether we intend to or not, will leave an enduring remembrance. It will be our words—and I don’t mean epitaphs etched in granite on our tombstones.

Words are permanent. Today’s technology has made us aware that they are enduring. For example, once I post this entry, it is out of my hands. Tomorrow or next week or next year, I may edit it, move it, retract it, or even delete it, but it will still be cached somewhere and thus more or less permanent. There is a cleverly-named publishing company called “Permanent Press.” I don’t know if that particular firm has ever had to recall books they’ve distributed, but it is next to impossible to do that completely. Bookstores and libraries can return books they’ve purchased, but copies owned by individuals and downloaded versions and “pirated” copies are irretrievable. Words are pretty permanent.

While we recognize the endurance of published words, our spoken or personally written words are equally long-lasting. There are many versions of this old fable about gossiping—just as true of complaining, lying, criticizing, ridiculing, demeaning (even oneself), and joking that embarrasses or puts others down. A villager once spread a slanderous tale about another, and soon everyone in the community knew the story. Some time later, the gossiper repented, and confessed to the individual who had been unfairly targeted. “Please forgive me,” the wrongdoer begged remorsefully.

“Of course I will pardon you,” the other replied. “But first you must comply with a wish of mine. Bring a pillow to the village square, cut it open, and toss the feathers into the air in every direction. Then come back to me here.” The offender did as requested and soon returned. “Now go through the village and gather the feathers again,” the victim of the mischief instructed. “See that not a single one is missing.”

“That’s impossible!” the trouble-maker cried. “The wind has scattered them everywhere. By now they are even in the fields outside the village!”

“Just so,” the offended one said sadly. “While I forgive you gladly, do not forget that you can never undo the damage your words have done.”

If you doubt the permanence of words (because after all, we are mere mortals), here’s what Jesus said, "It's your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation." (Matthew 12:34b-37 The Message) In the hearts of family and friends, and in the heart of God, our words are permanent.

Not to stop on a sad note: kind words, loving words, words that uplift and help and heal are permanent too. Did you learn Longfellow’s poem when you were in school? Here it is again.

The Arrow and the Song
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.
I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?
Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14 NIV)

Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. New International Bible also quoted by permission.

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com