Sunday Musings: Choose Your Words Wisely
There is a permanence to the written word, and it can potentially reach a wide audience, so when I’m writing I try to keep in mind the effect my words will have.
It isn’t always possible to predict their impact, of course, and I know I don’t always succeed in perfectly expressing my meaning, but it is important to me to try. In fact, I decided on ’Choose Your Words Wisely’ as a slogan not only because words are so important to my clients, but because they are important to me personally.
But personally my choice of words doesn’t rely so much on what is good for marketing results or business success, although I’m not averse to success. ”Conventional wisdom” isn’t the standard by which I judge how I speak or what I write. The verses below describe that pure and peaceable wisdom from above that I strive to attain both in writing and in life:
Psalms 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
Proverbs 31:26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
Psalms 49:3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
Whether I’m writing an advertorial about gravel aggregates or a humorous essay about motherhood, I try to keep my words edifying and productive. That doesn’t mean I have to throw Bible verses into everything. It does mean I have to keep them in my heart. Wisdom can be serious, funny, or at times even conventional. But it can’t be stupid.
So I try not to be.