Words

How important are words? Can't read without them, can't talk very well without them either. What we say can have little impact, or great impact on those around us. How we say something can be as important as what we say. Back in the seventies, while I was teenager, the words of President Nixon denying Watergate eventually brought his term to an end. About ten years later President Reagan voiced the words "Mr. Gorbachev, bring down these walls!" while in Berlin. Soon thereafter the Soviet Bloc fell freeing most of Eastern Europe. What a difference in words, one resulting in shame the other in triumph.

This morning I was sitting out on our front porch watching Max (our new puppy) play as I had some tea and my quiet time. While reading in the twelfth chapter of Matthew I ran across this passage. Verses 33-37 grabbed my attention.

A Tree and Its Fruit

33 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. 35 A good man produces good things from his storeroom of good, and an evil man produces evil things from his storeroom of evil. 36 I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to account for every careless word they speak. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." HCSB

While Christ was chastising the Jewish religious leaders for their hypocrisy and speaking words of oppression to their fellow Jews, I also believe Jesus was warning everyone about the power of words. What we say and how we say something can edify or destroy those around us, especially those we love. How many times have I snapped at or talked in anger towards my wife or kids? Or not talked in a an appropriate, Christlike way around those I work with, damaging my testimony. In Proverbs 12:18 and Proverbs 18:21 we see what words can do.

How we talk is a part of who we are. Do we show good fruit or bad fruit as Christ tells us the passage above? I pray that I will be slower to speak and choose my words wisely in the future in order to uplift those around me, not tear them down.