Not only do we interact with each other through words, but through language we build and organize our knowledge. In a Quartz magazine article entitled, “You are what you read,” writer Zat Rana shares that language helps to create our perception of reality. “The information your senses absorb through your surroundings combine to create linguistic (and subconscious) models in your mind about how the world works and the best way to interact with it…,” he observes. “You are what you read. The information that you input into your mind informs your thinking patterns, and it influences your output in the form of the decisions you make, the work you produce and the interactions you have.” Talk about the power of words!
During this Lenten season, I invite you to pause and consider the power of words within your life. What do your words create? What influence do the words you read – from books to social media to advertising – have on your life? To quote the psalmist, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).
This message is excerpted from “Word power” by Linda Post Bushkofsky in the March 2018 Gather magazine.
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