Rev. Richard Smith
July 1, 2024
Proverbs 16:24 (ESV)
Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
Proverbs 12:18 (ESV)
There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
On January 6, 1838, Samuel Morse demonstrated for the first time in Morristown, New Jersey, the telegraph; his device that used electronic impulses to transmit encoded messages over a wire.
Morse spent the next few years, with financial backing and political support, developing a prototype. Then in May 1844, he sent the first telegraph over the line with the message, “What hath God wrought.”
We should take notice, first of all, that Morse rightly gave God credit for this seemingly singular human achievement. In one way or another, all constructive and life enriching discoveries and developments are a gift from God.
Secondly, there is no question that with the telegraph we entered the age of communication enhancement. Without advanced communication techniques and tools, there is no way we would be as modern and seemingly sophisticated as we are.
Also, we need to acknowledge that the Judeo-Christian witness over these 2000 years since the time of Jesus has depended immensely on enhanced tools of communication. The electronic age of communication has given us Jesus followers manifold ways to get the Good News out.
We are in our day and time, sadly, flooded with all sorts of unhealthy communications….social media misinformation; rants and raves; incivility; media biases; words of intolerance and division; racial taunts; spiritually judgmental words, etc.
What God would “wrought”, of course, are words of healing, hope, tolerance, unity, and other-affirming love.
As always, He invites each of us to be vessels of life-enriching communication…words which affirm our common humanity; words which lift others up rather than tear them down; words which point us toward peace and cooperation; words which invite us to work together.
We can’t control all the voices resonating through our society, especially the ones which seem truly divisive. What we each can do, however, is manage our little part of this world with kind words, inviting words, affirming words, and Jesus type words.
