Schultze: Chapter 6

Hello old friend. I am so happy that we have switched back to this text for the time being. It is written in a clearer, more understandable way that Phaedrus or Johannessen, so it is like a breath of fresh air.

This chapter was dedicated to the topic of power, more specifically incarnate power. After reading the text, there were a couple passages that stuck out to me for various reasons.

The first takes place on page 90. Schultze is talking about how words can and do hurt people. I found this interesting because this is exactly what my devotional is about that I will give in early November. He says, "Even without physical violence, our communication can injure listeners and speakers alike."

It kind of goes back to the saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words with never hurt me."

Like I said this is a topic I will dive into more during my devotional, so I don't want to give my whole presentation away. However, I will include the clip I am using in my presentation to help demonstrate the point that words can be hurtful and harmful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJyyhNwdQz0

This clip from Mean Girls demonstrates how hurtful Regina words were to the other girls, ultimately breaking up their friendships.

In my own personal life, I used to be made fun of for my frizzy hair and dry skin. Because of this, I have always been self conscious, specifically over my dry hands. When David asked to see my hands just before we were dating (my freshman year of college), I told him no because I was worried about what he would think. Luckily, David loves my hands and says they are beautiful (that's when I knew he was different. :) )

Schultze's point about words being sometimes just as harmful as physical violence is completely true, since words can affect us deeply for a long, long time.

Another point that stuck out to me from the reading was on page 94. Schultze is quoting a passage from Quintilian and says, "In other words, person and message should be united so that what we say is a product of who we are and what we believe..."

This goes right along with my earlier point. Our communication, both verbal and nonverbal, can help determine our reputation. By using harsh words, or saying hurtful things, a person may be defined as being mean, rude, inconsiderate or hurtful. Instead, saying kind words and uplifting things will help people associate positive words with that person.

They say we are what we eat. But I think, we are what we say (both verbally or nonverbally).

What are your thoughts?