Sensitivity to the word

Especially now when we are in an age of rapid communication, we have to be most careful with the words we are using. Words, which are a staple in our exchanges with one another and have great power of influence, need to be handled properly.

Their quality both reflects and builds up the kind of person and society we are. We just have to make sure then that they do us what is truly good, that they contribute to the common good. We have to develop a keener sense of responsibility over them even as we grow in our sense of freedom in using them.

Sad to say, many now are the indications we are abusing the use of words. Gossips and idle talks are now going viral. All forms of defamation, whether of the detraction type or that of calumny, are spreading like wildfire.

Loquacity seems to be the rule of the road nowadays, dumping us with all kinds of exaggerations, reckless words, and stray insinuations. This is made worse since it is practiced not only in the context of our personal dealings, but also in large-scale media coverages.

If not these very negative misuse of words, then we are also confronted with the other extreme-that of fawning adulation and flattery, often calculated according to a hidden agenda. These too are festering. Notice the more intense use of propaganda and hype that encourage immoral views and positions.

It's time we become more aware of this predicament that is becoming increasingly mainstream in our society, and start to take appropriate action. We need, first of all, to realize that words have a certain sacredness that we should all respect, uphold, and defend.

That sacredness can only come from the sacredness of God's word, from whom all our words should come and to whom they should tend. In short, we have to realize that there's a lot of theology involved here. We just cannot confine our understanding and attitude toward words in the shifty realm of practicality alone.

St. Athanasius once said: "The word we speak is an image of the Word who is God's Son." This is a truth we need to digest more seriously.

To be sure, God's word is not just the usual words we use, made of some letters and possessing a limited meaning. God's word is none other than a person, the Son, who is the self-knowledge of God, the very pattern of the creation of the universe, the embodiment of everything that is true, good, beautiful, and wise.

God's word, if we understand it properly, is a tremendous reality that has direct and immediate relevance in our life. We should not treat it as if it is so very special, so mysterious that it has no relation to our daily affairs and concerns.

Our words should therefore be rooted on God's word. They have to be inspired by God's word. They ought not to spin off simply at the instance of our sense of justice, or our need to communicate, and much less, at the impulse of our feelings and passions alone.

We ought to have a theological understanding and attitude towards the words we use. Only then can our words convey truth and charity, expressed in the proper time and in the proper manner. Only then can they generate a good and healthy atmosphere around.

We have to take the effort to base our words on God's word. For this to happen, we need to pray, to meditate, to enter into an intimate conversation with God who actually does not make himself hard to get, despite the fact that he is also very inscrutable.

As God, our Father and Creator, as the maintainer of our very existence, the provider of love, the foundation of reality, he is the one closest to us. He is at the very core of our being.

He cannot withdraw from us, otherwise we revert to nothing. This truth alone, if properly understood, should make us feel confident that we can have easy access to him.

The Book of Deuteronomy puts it this way: "This Law that I enjoin on you is not beyond your strength or your reach. It is not in heaven, so that you need to wonder, 'Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it down to us?…Nor is it beyond the seas, so that you need to wonder, 'Who will cross the seas for us and bring it back to us?'

"The Word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart."