Watch Your Words Every Day

“The heart of the wise instructs his mouth [in wisdom] and adds persuasiveness to his lips. Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweet and delightful to the soul and healing to the body.” (Proverbs 16: 23-24, AMP)

Words are important. More than anything, they are our legacy. They have the power to affect those around us and the ability to outlive us and be remembered long after we’re gone.

This weekend, my whole family was in town visiting. My grandmother made a craft for the ladies to do before we went to a high tea luncheon and asked me to create a devotion to go along with it. 

The craft was simple: a piece of palette wood that we would choose a word to stencil on and decorate to hang in our home. What I like most about crafts like that is that if you hang it in a good place, you’ll see it every day and it will serve as a reminder to live more like Jesus.

Because the truth, simple as that craft, is that we need daily reminders that the words we speak are opportunities to share hope, love, and God’s truth, or to tear people down. And scripture makes that much clear; that words have the power to create or destroy, heal or wound, unify and strengthen or break apart and discourage. Every day, we wake up with the ability to help or hurt people based entirely in speech, and that premise is seen throughout scripture.

“Gentle words bring life and health; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.” (Proverbs 15:4)

“Words satisfy the soul as food satisfies the stomach; the right words on a person’s lips bring satisfaction.” (Proverbs 18:20)

“Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an ax, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow.” (Proverbs 25:18)

And that language that scripture uses is very descriptive to show us the power of words. They can either be nourishment to the soul, bringing us life, health, joy, encouragement, strength, unity, love, and peace, or they can be soul-crushing and bitter shackles. Either way, they alter the lives of those around you. And not one will ever be forgotten.

Even Jesus Himself says, “You brood of vipers, how can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man, from his [inner] good treasure, brings out good things; and the evil man, from his [inner] evil treasure, brings out evil things. But I tell you, on the day of judgment people will have to give an accounting for every careless or useless word they speak. For by your words [reflecting your spiritual condition] you will be justified and acquitted of the guilt of sin; and by your words[rejecting Me] you will be condemned and sentenced.” (Matthew 12: 34-37, AMP)

So according to those verses, words not only indicate what is hidden in our hearts, but they also will be presented and accounted for at the end of our lives to either justify us or deem us guilty of sin. I don’t know about you, but that thought alone is enough to convict the socks off of me. I’m a self-proclaimed words girl. And ask anyone that knows me, I can err on the side of sassy with those words. To me, the simple thought that everything I’ve ever said will be put before Jesus to be judged is a humbling thought. 

Because I can mess up. I can be crude with my words and insensitive. Whether it’s because I’m trying to be funny at others’ expenses, or trying to convince people I’m unfazed by my situation, or whether I’m just being plain careless. And the thought that all those things will be used to determine whether Jesus welcomes me into eternity or condemns me out of His presence is terrifying.

But the comforting thing is that the Jesus that will weigh out my words at the end of my life is the same Jesus that has the indescribable power to put my ugly words under His purifying blood and wash them away. So yes, I may mess up a thousand times over and be careless with my words when I’m not on guard. But I also have the opportunity to wake up each morning, ask God to cleanse my heart to allow His life-giving words to come pouring out of my mouth and turn not only myself but the people around me back towards Him.

So this week, I’m hanging my little wooden plaque that says, ‘grateful,’ to remind me every day that I am welcomed into a salvation that allows each day to be new. Because even I need a daily reminder that my words have the power to be a ministry to God’s goodness and life-altering, transformative power. 

Today, remember this: Your heart and whatever it’s filled with will inform the words that you speak every day, and when you fill your home with the praises and Word of the Lord, you change not only your own life, but the lives of each and every person that lives under your roof and comes walking through the door.

And that is not only a powerful ministry to others, but it is also an important testimony to the mighty, worthy God we serve.