Words That Give Life

How are you using your words today?  Did you shout vehemently at the driver of the car who cut you off on your way to the store?  Or did you cross the aisle at church last week and give a kind word to the unknown person who sat alone? Did you race out of the house this morning, angry and shouting at your spouse because they didn’t take out the trash? Perhaps you were reading social media when you came across a differing opinion and you had to stop and respond, without a speck of grace, in an attempt to “set them straight”.  Do you have trouble “taming the tongue”, as I often do?  Does your heart reflect the tenderness of Gods’ love?  Ephesians 4:25-32 reminds us that words should be void of anger, wrath and bitterness and replaced with words of kindness, grace and forgiveness.

A while back I was in the habit of praying a variation of Psalm 139:23-24 which says: “Search me, O God, and know my heart!  Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”.  It was a good prayer but I executed it as if I was in line at a fast food drive through.  I’d pull up to the order box, make my request and expect that I would get some answer when I arrived at the checkout window.   It wasn’t until I was given these seven verses in Ephesians to write and reflect upon that I realized God was answering a prayer.  He really had searched my heart and regrettably found my heart wasn’t always tender and my words were not always filled with kindness and grace.  I needed to spend time with these verses, pray about them and consider how far I’d gotten off course. 

I hope you’ll spend some time reflecting upon these verses.  If our hearts, as Christians, have been changed by the wonderful work of Christ then our words must reflect that change.  The next time you’re tempted to unleash words of anger or discouragement, think about The Message version of Proverbs 18:21 “Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit – you choose.” 

-Brenda Wooff