{"id":79357,"date":"2026-04-14T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/?p=79357"},"modified":"2026-04-02T03:55:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T10:55:20","slug":"why-should-choose-words-carefully","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/why-should-choose-words-carefully\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Should We Choose Our Words Carefully?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our words can create a mini-reality for us. How do our lives change if we wake up in the morning and say, \u201cToday is going to be so wonderful\u201d versus if we say \u201cI\u2019m sure today will be miserable?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The words we think and say contribute a great deal to fashioning our reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RELATED: Watching My Tongue to Make the World a Better Place<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Word of God is sometimes called the Creative Word, because of its power to create reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Baha\u2019i writings, Baha\u2019u\u2019llah<\/a> often mentions the power of words, and even says creation came about through a word. Here are some of the things Baha\u2019u\u2019llah wrote<\/a> about the power of the Word of God:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Praised be Thou, O Lord my God! Thou art He Who hath created all things through a word uttered by Thy behest \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potent am I to accomplish whatsoever I desire through My word \u201cBe\u201d, and it is!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 If it be Our pleasure We shall render the Cause victorious through the power of a single word from Our presence.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be patient in thy heart, for the people of the world are incapable of beholding thy sovereignty or perceiving thy manifold signs, how much less of recognizing Him Who hath created and fashioned thee through but a single word of His utterance!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Throughout his writings, Baha\u2019u\u2019llah<\/a> also describes<\/a> the power of the utterances of people like us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Indeed through the power of good words, the righteous have always succeeded in winning command over the meads of the hearts of men.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walk thou steadfastly in the love of God, and keep straight on in His Faith, and aid Him through the power of thine utterance.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Baha\u2019u\u2019llah <\/a>even gave us an example<\/a> of the power released through a single word:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Through the mere revelation of the word \u201cFashioner,\u201d issuing forth from [God\u2019s] lips and proclaiming His attribute to mankind, such power is released as can generate, through successive ages, all the manifold arts which the hands of man can produce.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

With all that as background, let\u2019s look at another powerful passage from the Baha\u2019i writings<\/a> that tells us even more about the profound influence different words can have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Every word is endowed with a spirit, therefore the speaker or expounder should carefully deliver his words at the appropriate time and place, for the impression which each word maketh is clearly evident and perceptible. \u2026 One word is like unto springtime causing the tender saplings of the rose-garden of knowledge to become verdant and flourishing, while another word is even as a deadly poison.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Clearly, some words hurt people by demeaning and objectifying them. Some words hit people like a slap or a punch in the gut. Sometimes, people use words as weapons to make another person feel less important, of lower worth, or even less than human. There are words that end relationships, words that start wars, words that incite violence, and words that oppress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever else we get from Baha\u2019u\u2019llah\u2019s words about words, I think we can all agree that words can have a powerful effect for good or for ill \u2013 which means that we must choose our words with care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example: what effect do we create when we use the word \u201csexy\u201d? I haven\u2019t found any instances of that particular word in the Baha\u2019i writings and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s an accident; it seems to me that it would be out of place in the Word of God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, I think it\u2019s out of place anywhere and we would be better off without it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word \u201csexy\u201d means \u201csexually attractive or exciting.\u201d When a man says, \u201cThat woman is very sexy,\u201d the underlying meaning is that the speaker finds the woman sexually desirable. But what effect does that kind of label have on your soul \u2013 and hers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baha\u2019is understand that human beings are primarily spiritual rather than material. After all, our bodies never last much longer than several decades, but our souls are eternal. So if I say that a woman is sexy, I convey a message that her material reality solely defines her in my eyes. Here\u2019s the difference: \u201csexy\u201d isn\u2019t even a property or attribute of a person, it\u2019s more about someone else\u2019s response \u2013 but if you are merciful, friendly, generous, introspective, compassionate, that\u2019s your own attribute and has little to do with other people\u2019s perceptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RELATED: A Tribute to Abdu\u2019l-Baha and His Words<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So instead of commenting on a person\u2019s physical appearance, we\u2019re better off emphasizing virtues and spiritual qualities. Part of the lyrics of Red and Kathy Grammer\u2019s inspiring song, \u201cI Think You\u2019re Wonderful\u201d say, \u201cWhen somebody says that [I think you\u2019re wonderful] to me, I feel wonderful.\u201d When someone praises our inner spiritual qualities, we find ourselves wanting to develop them more, whereas when someone praises our outward physical qualities, we may focus more on developing those, instead of working on our spiritual qualities.
So, as we \u201ccarefully deliver <\/strong>[our] words at the appropriate time and place<\/strong>,\u201d being conscious of \u201cthe impression which each word maketh<\/strong>,\u201d wouldn\u2019t it work best to make a big effort selecting words that encourage people to develop their eternal virtues rather than redirecting their focus to their temporary material reality? That way, we\u2019re constantly speaking words that are \u201clike unto springtime<\/strong>,\u201d instead of words that are \u201cas a deadly poison<\/strong>.\u201d Wherever you think words like \u201csexy\u201d fit on that scale, is it ever worth using them?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our words can create a mini-reality for us. How do our lives change if we wake up in the morning and say, \u201cToday is going to be so wonderful\u201d versus…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21952,"featured_media":79360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2950],"tags":[3433],"series":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79357"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21952"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79357"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89195,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79357\/revisions\/89195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79357"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=79357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}