CHOOSE YOUR WORDS WISELY

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

There is more hope for a stupid fool than for someone who speaks without thinking.

Proverbs 29:20 (GNT)

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Words are game changers, especially in the way we speak them.

Words can make a person feel loved but they can also make them feel disvalue. They can inspire but they can also demotivate. They can encourage but they can also destroy.

There is a lot at stake in life and the words we use are of critical importance. There’s little doubt in that. This is why we need to choose our words wisely and think carefully before we speak. Our proverb for today carries with it a warning for those who don’t. Look at it again here:

There is more hope for a stupid fool than for someone who speaks without thinking. Proverbs 29:20 (GNT)

I think we all have said something in haste and regretted it afterwards. Sometimes our emotions get ahead of our sensibility and we let words fly without thinking about them first. And when that has happened, we experience the truth of this verse and feel foolish for what we’ve done. The problem is that sometimes those words damage a relationship in ways that can be irreparable. Maybe someone we have been dear to feels violated and hurt to the point of not wanting to relate to us anymore. Maybe we lost a job because we opened our mouth and said the wrong thing to a superior. Maybe we get caught up in deceitfulness and lose the trust of others.

Yes, a lot of damage can be done if we don’t meter and monitor our speech. Thus, it’s little wonder that the scriptures offer us further guidance to ensure we don’t end up feeling foolish and hopeless after speaking thoughtless words. Consider these verses:

1. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor. Ephesians 4:25

The message is simple. We are to be truthful in all that we say. To speak lying words is simply sinful and we know the Lord detests sinful behavior of any kind.

2. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, James 1:19

If we would only allow ourselves to first listen before we speak, we would find ourselves staying out of trouble. Ditto for not allowing anger to trigger our tongues. For it’s nearly impossible to listen and talk at the same time. Try it sometime. With this, we need to listen for the Lord and His guidance, allowing Him to give us the words to speak. When we do, we’ll always ensure we are speaking right and righteously. We’ll also be speaking in obedience to the next scripture verse.

3. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. 1 Peter 4:11

Friends, we can’t possibly follow this critical word of the Lord if we choose our own words. Rather, we need to let the Lord speak through us in Spirit and in truth. Think about how much power your words would contain if you did this. For the words you use would always be perfect as He is perfect. And this leads to the final scripture for this devotion from Psalms 37.

4. The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just. Psalm 37:30

When our spoken words are the very words of the Lord, then we will be counted among the righteous as the words we speak carry His wisdom and justice to those who hear them. We will stand apart from the any spokesperson who is of the world for their words will not carry the power and insight that the words of the Lord carry. Rather, the world’s words will look foolish and hollow.

The word of God is clear to all of us today. We are to choose our words wisely and the only way we can do that is to choose to allow the Lord to speak wisely through us, to allow His words to be our own. It’s something we all could do a lot better.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com