The Power of Words

Have you recently thought about the power of words? Have you considered the words you’ve spoken and how they would impact the various people with whom you were speaking? In a very familiar passage of Scripture, James compares the tongue to a fire. Like a tiny spark can cause a dangerous and destructive fire, so a word off of our tongue can cause great devastation (James 3:5-6).

I love the word picture that Solomon paints in Proverbs 12:18: “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (ESV). There is a comparison here between two types of people. The first one mentioned is the rash one who doesn’t think before he speaks but says whatever is on his mind without regard of the one to whom he’s speaking. In contrast is the wise one who thinks before he speaks and who understands the weightiness of words. And look at the results! The rash one’s words pierce like swords; the wise one’s words bring healing. The words of the wise are like good balm or medicine to the soul.

Haven’t we all used ‘sword thrust’ words at one time or another? Said things that hurt deeply and left a wound? Used a tone that was harsh and demeaning? I know I have. I have been that rash one at times whose words have pierced like a sword. Those words cannot be unspoken, and once said, can bring pain into a relationship. This can apply to any type of relationship: simple acquaintances, deeper friendships, and even (maybe especially) marriage and family relationships. Praise God for forgiveness and for grace that is given in those times.

However, what would it be like if we were marked by words that bring healing to the soul? If our words brought balm and soothing to a hurting spirit? If our words encouraged a neighbor, helped bring hope to a struggling sister in Christ, or built up our spouse and children? Oh to be known as a person whose words bring healing!

In Psalm 141:3, David wrote in his prayer to God, “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!” David understood the power of the tongue, and he knew he needed divine intervention to use his tongue for good and not for harm. And thankfully, as believers in God after Christ’s time on earth, we have that guard living inside of us. It is the Holy Spirit Himself who seeks to aid us in this process of spiritual transformation to become more like Christ. The fruit of the Spirit that He enables in us and that often can be seen in our words as well as our actions are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The tongue of a person who is characterized by that fruit will be one of healing and not sword thrusts.

So, as we go into this new week, may we consider our words in the conversations we have. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to be the guard over our mouths, so that our words truly would be a reflection of our Heavenly Father, bringing healing to hurting hearts.

--Amy O'Rear