The power of Words

I recently did an experiment about how negative words and positive words effect people, after I saw this blog post by a person who put pieces of apples into jars and labeled one Positive Apple, and the other one Negative Apple. Here's the original post. http://www.daniellelaporte.com/words-make-you-sick-or-healed/

I thought the idea behind it was intriguing so I decided to try it out for myself.

The idea behind it is that your words are powerful, much more powerful than any of us realize.

For my experiment, I chopped an apple in half.

Then I placed one half in a jar, and labeled that apple negative apple and put the other half of the apple in a jar, and labeled that one Positive Apple.

I wanted both apples to have equal environment both in temperature, and in opportunity to have ample words spoken to them. But I wanted to be sure the that the positive apple would be in a place sure to only get positive words.

So I put the positive apple in the bathroom, with the charge to all in the house to speak only kind words to that apple. Then I put the negative apple in the kitchen, where I knew the sounds of the TV or any possible shouting might catch it.

My two nine-year old nieces happened to spend the week at my house, at the time of the apple experiment, and they had great fun with both the apples. Every time they passed by the different jars of apples, they were sure to give the negative apple a verbal beating, and a mouthful of sour, rotten words. "You bad, bad apple! You jerk apple. You're rotten to the core! You ugly rotten, stinking, piece of fruit. Nobody likes you. You should turn into a pile of mold, and die you wormy thing!"

It was so abused that I felt a bit sorry for it. An apple.

Then to the positive apple kind words were spoken to it in abundance. "Oh, we love you, you're so beautiful, so sweet, so lovely. We love you. Mahwah! I want to hug you, you're so wonderful. You're so green, so delicious, such a good, good apple. Ahhhh!"

My niece named both the apples, The negative one she named, NA, the positive one, PA.

After about a week or so, signs of the words began showing in both apples.

I couldn't believe it myself. And I still have to do a re-trial to be sure. But day by day. Word by word. After shouting and yelling, and cussing the poor NA, it began to sweat, and coat the bottle in water, like it was crying. Then dark spots began to appear, then mold, then rot.

The other apple, the PA however remained much more happy, and fresh looking. The difference was unbelievable. They were both sliced from the same apple. Just one half was spoken to with love, the other with spite, and anger.

Words. What untold power resides in them?

The force of light, and darkness we wield with our tongue and pen. The scripture about life or death coming from our tongues come to mind.

I'm glad my nieces were here to see the effect of their words so vividly displayed for all to see.

If words have such power on inert objects like apples, what are our words doing to people?

What effect are your words having on your spouse, your children, your family, your friends, and even yourself?

Words, they fall like rain everywhere, no piece of ground is left untouched.

And where they sink into the dry soil, what life-sustaining power, what encouragement, hope, love, or life are we bestowing upon a land, dry and parched by years of sarcasm, and words that are barbed and twisted.

We are in a drought.

But not for water.

But for words.

Real, true, good beautiful words.

And you have the power to water the parched grounds with a single word.

What mold, what busies what rot are we causing by the harmful words we speak at random without a thought to what harm it may be causing those around us?

What good we might do? What life we might give? What soil we might enrich by things we have long left unsaid. What potential lies dormant, if we but learned the power of blessing through our words, and the way we wield them.

Words.

If we wielded  words as carefully as wield a match, we would use them not to burn others or ourselves, but to light up a dark world, and give light, warmth and hope to those groping in the darkness for a fragment, a shaft of light and hope to hold onto.

Words.

They literally give life. Or take it away.