Words!

In 11^th century Europe, the First Crusade to recapture Jerusalem was started by the Pope by just 3 words “deus le volt”, or “God wills it” in English.  In 1960’s America, the cause of race relations was greatly advanced by 4 words from Martin Luther King – “I have a dream”.

Matt 12 v 36-37 says, “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

James 3 v 6-8 says. “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell...no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

This being the case we should watch our words carefully.  It seems to be that advise which the Bible gives – to limit our words to each other and to God in certain circumstances.

One of the challenges we face is that we have unlimited numbers of words at our disposal.  In addition, English is the richest language in the world, with over 700,000 to choose from.  It is estimated that men use 25,000 words per day, whereas women use twice that amount.  They probably would claim it is because the men were not listening the first time they said it! It was said of Samuel in 1 Sam 3 v 19 that God did not let any of his words fall to the ground.  What an interesting expression.  Not one word was wasted, and this also shows that God was also listening at all times.  Are any of our words only fit to be thrown away?

There appear to be 3 good options here:

1)       Be slow to speak – assess the situation from all angles, challenge the motives behind what you are about to say, and then prepare and select your words with great care

2)       Speak few words – the law of averages tells us that the fewer words we speak, the less chance of putting our foot in it.  As James vividly indicates to us in his letter, our tongues can get out of control – he uses the word “hell” in his description, which is not a word to be used lightly.

3)       Don’t speak at all – its very unnatural for many, particularly when you feel under attack and you feel the need to defend yourself.  But think of Jesus’ example and how it was said of him, when he was reviled he did not revile again.  Our culture today is one that demands instant opinions – whether it be in relation to politics, news or sports events.  Some stars are even contracted to be interviewed after an event – they cannot get out of it!  We can though and sometimes its better not to say anything at all.

 

However we must also be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.  Of course there are times when we must speak out, and infact we are commanded to do so!

·         Confession of Jesus as Lord – Romans 10 v 9.  Consider this as a daily exercise to start the day

·         Building up of fellow saints – Ephesians 4 v 15.  Its certainly harder to do this than tear someone down!

·         Declaring God’s praises – Psalm 145 v 6.  Don’t forget our words can still be few.  After all, if our bodies are a living sacrifice to God throughout the week, isn’t that what God wants more?

·         Witnessing – 1 Peter 3 v 15.  Words should be used like a scalpel though - and not a blunt instrument like a mallet.  The words here are in response to a specific question from an enquirer (presumably triggered by the distinctive lifestyle of the Christian) and not simply a scattergun approach to the gospel.

May our prayer be that of David in Psalm 19 v 14 “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”