Whatever

Devil words...God words. I remember learning about these in Speech Communication waaaay back in my college days. Devil words evoked a negative feeling in the hearer and God words created a pleasant feeling in the hearer. Words...they create such powerful emotions, written or spoken they affect the listener or reader. Words are so easily tossed around without much thought and yet the person on the receiving end of those words might possibly remember them for the rest of her life. Words can build up or they can cut so deep it can feel like a mortal wound. It's funny how a word can really affect one person and have no affect on another.

I never really thought I had a "devil" word, today I discovered I do, it is "Whatever." To this hearer, it conveys a complete lack of regard for the person on the receiving end. It is like being told you don't matter and are not worth respect. I am glad I heard it today from an adult. It gave me pause. It made me think. What are my words saying to someone? Are they uplifting or hurtful? I guess there is a reason God tells us we will have to give an account for all of our words. The affect on a relationship can last a lifetime. Words are powerful.