Words Matter
Have you ever considered the power of your words? How about your internal words that run through your mind?
Do you choose your words wisely? I didn’t for nearly all of my life…and still often struggle with it today. My mouth tends to run faster than my brain, and certainly faster than my fragile heart and spirit. I am often a victim of my own careless words.
Listen, folks…words have power!
Words have the power to create and destroy. The power to love and to hate.
The words of support and encouragement bring ideas to life…
“That’s such a great idea! Let’s work together and create a product to help change lives!”
“I can’t wait to see the next stage of your plan! Is there anything I can do to help you?”
What about the converse? The words that destroy creation and hope…
“That’s so dumb. No one would ever buy that.”
“This is a waste of your time…why are you chasing some silly dream?”
Words can communicate love and safety….
“Everything will be fine. Don’t worry. I’m here.”
“I love you and am so proud of you.”
“I appreciate you and your effort.”
From the same person, words can strip away our spirit and break our fragile hearts…
“Why are you so upset? You caused this yourself.”
“You are so useless…I’ll just do it myself.”
When we allow our emotions to control our mouths and minds, our words become life-taking to those around us. But what about the words you speak over yourself? What do you think about yourself?
“I am not smart enough to be in this room.”
“My kids hate me.”
“I’m not thin enough…I look so fat in this…I’m just going to stay home.”
When we speak to ourselves using life-draining words, guess what we end up delivering to the people around us? That’s right…the same kind of negative, soul-destroying words that turn into their internal words.
Words matter.
How do we fix this? It’s easy…focus on and study THE WORD. The Bible is a compilation of the most important and influential of all words! We fix our words and our thoughts by meditating on His word!
The first three verses of the Bible tell us the importance and power of words…in the beginning there was nothing, but God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1-3)…and He created life through His word. And when He created, He took time to view His creation and spoke kindness and blessings over it all.
But here’s the thing…we were all created in God’s image. Thus, our words hold the same power to create…or destroy.
The book of Proverbs is the book of wisdom…the guide to living and speaking in right relationship with God.
“Gentle words bring life and health; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.” Prov. 15:4
“Kind words are like honey - sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.” Prov. 16:24
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue…”Prov. 18:21
Jesus commanded us to love…to love God with all our hearts and souls and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. He tells us that the words we speak are actually a depiction of our hearts! See Matt. 12:34-25.
Is it loving to speak ill of others or ourselves? Is it loving to cast blame and shame on others or ourselves? Is it loving to condemn and judge others or ourselves? The state of our hearts surely need to be examined.
Jesus reminded us that our words will eventually be judged…our words have the power to acquit or condemn us. See Matt. 12:36-37.
The apostles guide and warn us about our power of words. Paul taught to remove vulgarity from our speech (something I often struggle with!) and to use words that are helpful for building others up according to their needs. See Eph. 4:29 and Col. 3:16. Peter guides us to speak about our hope in Christ and to do so “with gentleness and respect”. 1 Peter 3:15. And James…oh James and his wise words…tells us to “be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry.” James 1:19. He tells us to “humbly accept the word of God planted in [our] hearts, for it has the power to save [our] souls.” James 1:21.
I challenge each of you…today, let’s each of us examine our words and thoughts. Take note of the life-giving words and how they made us or the recipient feel. Then praise God, giving Him thanks for the wisdom in our words. And guess what? We will have more! Because that’s how God works. He blesses us when we are obedient and show Him some love and gratitude.
But let’s also take note of our life-draining words and thoughts. Write them down and then STOP. Pause in that moment. Confess those words as not being of Him or from Him. Seek forgiveness and His wisdom…and accept His loving grace as we open our mouths to start anew.
For in that moment, we are forgiven…by the word of God…and we are given grace to choose our next set of words more wisely…from a Spirit of love, hope and humility.
In case you haven’t heard it yet today…I love and appreciate each of you.
