This scripture provides deep insight into how our words may have much more of an impact on others than we are aware.
The 2nd part of this scripture reveals that your words and my words can be a healing. But, there are different degrees of healing!
For example, you may do your best to find some words of comfort for a brother/sister who lost a loved one in death. You are not sure exactly what to say, but you try to say something kind, loving, comforting. Those words very likely are not going to completely heal the person from all of their great emotional pain, but your words will have some degree of "healing"! Even if your soothing words provide just a brief relief from the emotional pain the person is presently suffering, how grateful they are for that momentary break from such extreme grief! So your words may have much more impact than you may know!
But how about the 1st part of this scripture?
We all know that thoughtless words can hurt someone emotionally or psychologically, similar to how a knife or sword would do damage physically. But here is something profound to consider about how much more of an impact or a "stab" our words can have if we are not careful! This comes from this past week's WT lesson:
So when we have read this scripture in the past, we may have said to ourselves, "I don't want to speak thoughtlessly and "stab" or injure someone emotionally or psychologically." But now thanks to the FDS, this scripture is even more profound as it can helps us to think like this, "I don't want to speak thoughtlessly and "stab" or injure someone emotionally or psychologically, but especially do I now need to be more aware of how much more impact my words can have because based on this WT, if I thoughtlessly "stab" another person with my words, they likely have already been suffering due to a previous 'stabbing' from someone else!" So imagine you are thoughtlessly using a knife and it stabs a person in the stomach, that is bad. But if that person had just been stabbed in that same area of the stomach a few weeks ago, the stab could be more damaging than we know! And even if our "stabbing' words were unintentional, much more damage can be caused than we may be aware of.
So here is what I learn from this:
I have to be extra cautious with my words, because in reality, almost every brother/sister has been "stabbed" before in some way! Who of us has not been "stabbed" in some way by the thoughtless words of others? So I cannot just say whatever I feel needs to be said, I cannot just speak to someone or post words that are just off the top of my head that have no thought or kindness behind them. Because if do speak thoughtlessly, chances are I am going to do much more than just "stab" a fellow brother/sister, but very likely I will be "stabbing" a brother/sister who has already been stabbed before, already been hurt, causing much more damage to the person than I may even know! So to each of you my friends, I will try hard to never thoughtlessly "stab" you, especially with the insight that very likely you are either suffering already now! Or you have already been "stabbed" before! Or both! And may each of us be extra cautious from now on because we are more aware now that our words may have much more impact on others than we may know, whether we are posting here on JWtalk or talking to others in the congregation or speaking to our family members. We must try harder to not speak thoughtlessly or post words that stab anyone, because most everyone is already suffering or has been stabbed before.