How you Speak Matters--Message from the Heart

Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. "  

 (Proverbs 18:11 KJV)

Why do our words and how we speak matter? This is a common topic among Christians today with varied opinions, but the bible teaches us that our words hold power. Proverbs 8:21 says that “the tongue has the power of life and death.” I believe it. As a child, we hear sticks and stones may break our bones, but words will never hurt us. Let us be truthful, that is a lie from the world itself. If you have ever been spoken down to, shamed, wrongly spoken about, or emotionally-mentally abused in a relationship, then you know the power of words.

The tone of our voice, the words we choose, and how we present our conversation is important as we reflect the light of Christ. Ephesians 4:29 teaches us to not let any corrupt communication proceed out of our mouth. What is considered corrupt? Anything that does not line up with the Word of God. Ephesians 4:29 goes on to tell us to speak that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

How we speak matters. It matters in how we present the gospel; it matters when we are giving bad news, it matters when we try to encourage someone, it matters when we are giving feedback to an employee, it matters when we are angry and having a disagreement. 

Always speaking in the TRUTH is good, even when it might be hard. That is why we lean into the Lord for his strength in situations when our talk is not where it should be, or we feel like communicating is an issue. That is why we need to lean on the truth of the Gospel and what God says about us. We need to understand that we are his image bearers, even as flawed as we are; it is his grace through truth and by our faith that we will speak well toward others. Most importantly, how you speak over yourself matters! If what you speak about yourself is not from God through conviction or gives you peace, then the world is at work. 

We can always give grace through our words and actions. We can always edify someone with our words of encouragement. Our words and how we speak can be compassionate and provide grace to give comfort in a time of need. Our words can still have grace amid a disagreement or challenging situation and when you start to see your words seasoned with both truth and grace you will know that you are growing in the Lord through your own faith and trust in him. 

"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." (Ephesians 4:31-32 KJV)