“I have often repented of speech, but hardly ever of silence,” C.S. Lewis wrote. Lewis was someone who understood that our words have power. Our words, once spoken, cannot be taken back.
The Bible describes our words as everything from acceptable and wholesome to enticing and vain. Scripture provides us with plenty of instruction about the power of our words. Our words have the power to vindicate another, and our words also have the power to condemn.
We read in Proverbs 15 that our words have the power to stir up anger. “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” (v.1). A wise question to ask ourselves is whether our words lean more toward a soft answer, or the stirring up of anger. In moments of frustration, finding the right words can be near impossible, and this should be an indicator that in such a time we ought to hold our tongues. As Spurgeon said, “Beware of letting your tongue outrun your brains.” Our war with words is often due to the fact that no man can tame the tongue.
In Proverbs 26, we understand that our words have the power to wound, and doesn’t each one of us know this all too well? Many of us right now can recall to mind the words of another that hurt us and stuck with us, words that were spoken not necessarily recently, but perhaps even decades ago. “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.” (v.22). Never underestimate the power of our words on those who hear them. Our words stick with people, whether for good or bad.
On the positive side, our words have the power to comfort. Be encouraged by Isaiah’s own words, “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.” (Isaiah 50:4). In his letter to the church of Thessalonica, Paul exhorted Christian believers to keep going and to keep growing: “Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thess. 4:18). Chosen wisely and spoken mindfully, our words can provide great comfort and encouragement to others.
We also know from Scripture that our words can provide refreshment and renewal to others: “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.” (Proverbs 16:24). As David prayed in Psalm 19, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” (v.14). When we look to Christ as our strength and our redeemer, our words will reflect Him.
Our words matter. Most importantly, Christ Himself said that our words will impact us into eternity. “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” (Matt. 12:36-37). It sounds heavy, because the weight of our words is just that. Whether someone takes the Lord’s name in vain so flippantly and frequently that they are hardened to it, or whether confessing Jesus Christ as Lord, we can be sure that we will all account for our words eventually. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Romans 10:9).