So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed.” – Genesis 27:27

Today’s Scripture Reading (April 26, 2012): Genesis 27

“Sticks and stones my break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” It is the children’s phrase spoken by hurting children all over the English speaking nations. And it is a lie. And not only is it an untruth, but it is one that parents have taught their children to repeat. As parents, we want the words to be true. But as children, we wonder why, if what our parents tell us is true, do the words hurt so much?

And while, even as parents we want the words to be true, we know that they aren’t – because we feel the pain of words. We know what it is to hurt from the effect of words, and we feel the very pain that we try to tell our kids isn’t really there. We cry and weep with their pain in response to words that aren’t supposed to have any substance.

The truth is that sticks and stone may bruise me, they may even break my bones, but those wounds will heal. On the other hand, the wounds produced by words are often wounds that hamper us for life. And sometimes the words that have been spoken over us echo through our lives so that we can hear absolutely no other words. We are left with only the hurt.

So our pledge is often that we will endeavor not to hurt anyone with our words. My prayer is that God will help me not to say words that will cause harm. I wish I was more successful than I am – because sometimes hurtful words are still spoken.

But to avoid the speaking of harmful words isn’t enough. We are to be the encouragers of the earth, both the world at large and of the people that we come into contact with on a daily basis. It isn’t enough to not do harm when there is the possibility that we might be do great good with our words. It was the secret that the ancient world knew. Isaac’s intention was to speak blessing over Esau - because words are not intangible things, but carry a weight and a mass that is greater than any stick or stone we can imagine. And if words can harm us, if we can be so hurt by what is said that the echo of words can bounce around us throughout the rest of our lives, then it is the responsibility of the encouragers of the world to let the positive words ring out and echo throughout the lives around us.

And my prayer is that we will speak so many words of blessing that there will not be any room in our world for the negatives to be spoken. And that the nature of the echo will change forever

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Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 28