According to various sources, there are about one million words in the English language. Approximately 750,000 of them are technical or scientific. That leaves us with 250,000 words with which to communicate. I doubt any of us know all of them or use them.
According to the TestYourVocab.com website, the average person knows about 20,000 words and uses only half of those in everyday speech. Go to that site and add your data to the two million people who have already taken their tests.
Interestingly, in his works, Shakespeare used about 29,000 different words, 12,000 of them only once. The King James Bible has 12,100 different individual words. In our normal life, we use only around 10,000 words to communicate our ideas, our emotions, and our understanding of truth.
Note that John 3:16 has only 21 words in it. An astounding example of brevity and profundity.
“In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1). The Word. The Logos. “And the Word was God.”
You are gifted with words, both spoken and written.
I find that when I’m angry, my vocabulary expands like a thesaurus; and I use that articulation like the sharp edge of a blade. Never to kill but to fillet. To carve enough pieces to leave my victim bloody and helpless. There is no pride in this skill. In fact, it is my greatest weakness. Nay, it is my greatest humiliation.
What if I–what if you–used that skill with words to bind wounds?
To give hope to the hopeless.
To give breath to the drowning.
To catch falling tears and turn them into refreshing joy.
To laugh a little, cry a little, love a lot, and pray even more.
You are word warriors. Called to something unique and special. To reflect the Word in your words. To be a vessel made in God’s image and change those with whom your words come in contact.
Never let the machinations of this publishing industry cause you to deviate from your calling.
Never.
Your faith is like a sturdy shield,
your prayers are knives and swords
before which hell’s dank demons yield,
filleted by your bright words
which reflect the flowing power
that’s channelled by your heart
from New Jerus’lem’s shining tower
of whose beauty you are part
from that day that you stood tall to kneel
before the King of Kings,
the day the Living Truth came real
at the touch of Spirit’s wings,
so step out as you write; be brave!
for there’s a whole wide world to save.
Wise words, Andrew.
Thank you so much, Lee!
Beautiful words. Thank you.
I am printing this out and posting it up in my writing room. Thank you so much for these words of wisdom today.
“Words. Words. Words.” <——Who knows the source?
Tears. Amen.
Powerful words! Thank you, Mr. Laube. Your post reminded me of Proverbs 18: 21: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”
Many blessings,
MaryAnn Diorio
So well said, Steve.
Aptly made into poetry, Andrew.
I LOVED this!!!
This moved me to tears. It also inspired. It confirmed a calling that my parents reminded me of. My mom gave me an award my dad (who went to be with the Lord last month) received at the Write to Publish conference several years ago, instilling a hope and refreshing in me.
Thank you for this post.
Just when I was considering putting my pen down. Wondering if I was truly called to be a Word Warrior. My one little word this year is hope, so your words have touched me deeply. You are a not only a master of words, Steve, but an encourager. Thank you! (And I’m framing this piece.)
Amazing post !
In honour of St. Paddy’s Day…
The fresh spring day was very brisk
when Ciara in the waves did frisk;
thought herself cool
but was a fool
her silly *.
And Elvis has LEFT the building, before the torches and pitchforks come out.
This is a beautiful and timely reminder. Thank you for your insight and encouragement.
It’s so interesting that you posted this today, Steve. I’ve been asked to say few words at an awards ceremony next week, and my subject is “The Power of Words.” The centerpiece in the talk reflects on God’s first words recorded in scripture: “Let there be light.” I believe God created more than photons with that statement. Light is a metaphor for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding – gifts from God that have moved mankind from ignorance to awareness – often through the power of words.
The conclusion is that we authors have been given this special gift of words, and we have a responsibility to use them to reflect that light into the darker corners of our world.
“May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
“The tongue holds the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Pr. 18:21
“A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” Pr. 25:11
“Let no unwholesome talk come from your mouth, but only that which is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it might benefit those who listen.” Eph. 4:29
These few examples reveal the importance of our words in God’s sight. Words are powerful! God’s created everything in existence! Ours can tear down or build up, complain or praise. Thank you for this reminder of Who gave us our words and why. May they bless Him in return!
Thank you, Steve. This is such a timely message for me. My blog post last week included John 1:1 and I struggled with writing it because I was conflicted between what I’ve learned about smart business practices and what I believed God was leading me to write in that post. Your post feels like a confirmation of my decision. What a good reminder that the Word who is God is the Word that lights the path–even for those of us whose work is words.
A powerful and deeply moving post. Thank you.
John 3:16 — simple yet powerful words.
Half of American adults read below high-school level, and I want to include them in my reading audience. Thus, my every word must be worth their effort.
What care & compassion. Grace be to you in your efforts.
This was a quickening, yet gentle conviction. Nay, a prophetic encouragement.
I receive with gratitude & humility.
Thank you.
My college Linguistics professor taught us this definition: a word is the smallest unit of communication that can stand alone.
Smaller units, like ed or ing are morphemes. They can only function when joined with a word.
Jesus Christ is the Word of God but we can be morphemes of God and communicate when connected with Him.
That’s a great word. Thank you.
When my niece was 16 and dating a boy who verbally abused her, she told me about it, then added, “At least he doesn’t hit me.”
I said, “He’s hitting you with his WORDS! Your bruises are on the inside!”
She was shocked. Then she broke up with him.
The power of words, indeed.
Brilliant. Stupendous.wonderful. Serendipitous. Spectacular.
Wow! This is really challenging. I don’t think I use up to 50 different words in a day. Really want to be a WORD WARRIOR