My husband, a pastor, accompanied me one day as I made my rounds in the women’s prison where I worked.
One of the prisoners approached us, quite upset. She swore indiscriminately as she lodged her complaints. The next day she walked up to me more calmly and said, “Deputy, if I had known your husband was a pastor, I never would have cussed like that!” I smile when I think of her using different words for me than she would use for a pastor. Maybe she knew I had used a few unseemly words myself in the past. We don’t always listen or think before we speak.
Language is a powerful gift from God, sent to us in human form when Word became flesh. From the beginning of time, Jesus is the Word (John 1:1). We’re hungry for food but also for every word that comes from the Lord (Deuteronomy 8:3). In many languages, pastors and translators bring Jesus to us so we understand and learn of His love. He breaks through to us in our language, whatever it may be. He hears every word we think, utter, or proclaim boldly. May our words reflect His great love for us.