May 6, 2018 - Inscriptions From The Heart
May 6, 2018
Paul Douglas Bennyson
The Human Torch
In chaos theory of mathematics there is a phenomenon called the butterfly effect. Butterfly effect states that “A small change in one state of a deterministic non-linear system can result in large differences in a later state.” It is a theory that is used for predictions of various other things that follow as a result of the genesis of one action.
A few months ago, I had to travel to BC on some work. This was the first time I seen the mountains of BC. What fascinated me was how most of these mountains were covered by trees. The trees not only added beauty to these majestic mountains but also a sense of life to them. As I was looking at these mountains covered with these rich healthy green trees, I suddenly see this space of dead trees. The trees had a very distinctive color of black that faded to grey with no life in or on them whatsoever. The land looked dead. This was a result of forest fires.
While some of the forest fires are caused by natural causes like lightning, others are caused by human intervention. Something as small as a campfire can set ablaze a whole forest if not put out after being used. Regardless of the source, forest fires are deadly and devastating. They say forest fires destroy everything in their path and are very hard to control. Experts say forest fires move at the speed of 10.8 kmph to 22 kmph and raising temperatures to 800° C destroying any or every kind of life in their path. They spread quickly and they spread fast. Forest fires generally start at a small place sometimes even something as small as a dry leaf and then the spread to other leaves, slowly to one tree, then to another, before we even know it a couple of trees. Forest fires not only destroy the trees but also life in the forest, mess up the ecological system and change weather conditions in the region.
Wait…why on earth are we talking about chaos theory and forest fires? Inspired from James 3:5 a songwriter wrote the following lines:
Our tongues are like matches
Our ears are like trees
Our words are like sparks on dry summer leave
It doesn’t take much for the flames to rise
And turn a soul into a forest fire.”
The power of our words can have a significant impact on people. I wish I can say sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me. But the truth is one word can make or break a person. It is interesting to see how one simple word can ignite something that would take ages to quench. Tormenting a soul, shaping the way they think, the way they respond to people and sometimes even direct the course of their day. It can be the enemy speaking lies into your life or even you speaking into someone else’s life. The enemy would obviously say words to destroy you. That’s the only thing he is capable of doing. But we as humans have a choice on how wisely we use our tongues to speak death or speak life into people. Deuteronomy 30:19 says “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you, life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life...”
Do we speak life to people or are we choosing to speak death? Remember the next time one word we say can shape a person’s response, their mindset or maybe even their whole day. Our hurts can be deep. But we can decide if it stops with us or if it carries on from us to another person. Take every opportunity to speak life into people. Speak words of love, joy and peace. Exhort one another. Speak Jesus.