I was reading the story of Jacob and Esau this morning and was struck by the portion where Jacob steala his brother Esau's blessing. The story goes that Isaac, the father of Jacob and Easu was growing old and near the point of death. He wanted to give his eldest son Esau a blessing before he died and so he instructed Esau to go out and hunt some wild game, prepare it and bring it to him and then he would give him a blessing before he dies. Jacob the younger brother learns of this and sets out with his mother's help to deceive his father and steal the blessing of his older brother and indeed he does. He disguises himself as Esau and his father speaks a blessing over him and his life.

What strikes me about this story though is the apparent power behind the words that Isaac speaks. When Isaac speaks the blessing over Jacob, that's it and that's the way things are going to be. There is no taking it back or changing what has been said. When Esau comes in to receive his blessing both he and his father are overcome because they realize they have been deceived. However, there is nothing they can do to change it. The words have been spoken and that is the way things will be.

Reading this story, I wonder how much we take our words for granted? Proverbs 18:21 says that, "The tongue has the power of life and death..." It seems we live in a day and age where words don't mean much. We can say whatever we want to say and they're just words. We don't have to be accountable for the things we say because if things get too out of hand we can simply state that we didn't really mean what we said... they're just words!

But as I read this story I can't help but wonder how our words really do affect our lives? Perhaps the words we speak mean much more than we give them credit for. Perhaps they affect our lives and the lives of those around us more than we are aware of.

Today, consider how the things you speak might affect your life and the lives of those around you.

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