Welcome B&H Publishers, sponsor of Allume!
Words are powerful.
Whether you write them, paint them, sing them, blog them or whisper them to a friend – words carry weight. With them, we convey our perspective and our vision, pointing people toward whatever it is that we value.
In middle school, my words were normally less than “seasoned with salt” or edifying to those around me. These words would probably be better described as poison, as I found solace in pointing out the bad in others. My words didn’t point people to Jesus, instead they pointed people toward insecurities or feelings of unworthiness because my value was found in silencing the insecurities that I felt.
Have you been there? Have you realized (probably long after the fact like I have) that your words weren’t seasoned with grace or leading people toward a deeper walk with Christ? I’d love to pretend like this was something that I had to carefully watch years ago, and have completely overcome at this point in my life, but that is not the case. I still must be careful to watch my words and use them wisely, because every word matters.
As a community of leaders and creators, we must be even more faithful to guard every word that we publish, convey, and craft. Around every corner is an opportunity to choose to edify or destroy. Even social media becomes a battleground where it would be easy to fall into less than uplifting words.
Now, this is a scary responsibility, but also an immense blessing! Every word matters, which means that every kind word you speak and every inspiring post you post will have impact. Lives will be changed for the better. People will see a clearer picture of Jesus because of the way that you have loved them with your words. You have such an exciting opportunity to use your platform as ministry.
You get to speak hope directly to the brokenhearted, and life to the jaded. You have the opportunity to change a person’s day, or even the trajectory of their life with the pieces of art you create – no matter the medium. So here’s your call to make art to the best of your ability. Don’t let your blog sit dormant. Don’t let a week pass that you don’t use your words to encourage. We hope that you will use the gifts that God has given you to bring glory to His Name, one piece of your ‘art’ at a time.
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This post was written by Mary Wiley (@marycwiley) who lives in Nashville, TN with her husband, John. Mary works at B&H Publishing Group, who stands on the truth that every word matters. Come by the B&H booth during the Allume Conference to talk about joining in on the journey to produce content that matters. B&H has openings on their blogger team for folks who would like to review new books, and they’d love to have you join! Stop by and share some words together.