In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1
Death and life are in the power of the tongue..Proverbs 18:21
Words are powerful. Words are significant. Words are eternal.
God spoke words to create the world into existence. Satan twisted God’s words, to deceive God’s creation, intending to destroy their relationship with their spiritual Father.
God uses words to express His love, mercy, and grace. The enemy uses words to deceive, to divide, and to destroy.
When using words, people may emulate either their heavenly Father or the father of lies. Words can be used for good or for evil. We should choose to use them for good.
Truthful words: To emulate God, we should always speak the truth-- the whole truth and not half-truths-- and not be deceptive by twisting the truth or withholding the truth. Thomas Jefferson was quoted as saying, “He who permits himself to tell a lie once finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual.” And we should believe and speak only what we know to be true, because what a person thinks to be true may have no basis in fact at all. A Jewish proverb states, “What you don’t see with your eyes, don’t witness with your mouth.” And we must be careful not to be deceived by a convincingly told lie, or sincerely retell it as truth and thereby unknowingly deceive others. As poet Margaret Bruner noted, trying to make amends after realizing one has spoken falsely is akin to having placed a feather at each door and then trying to retrieve those feathers blown away by the wind. Proverbs says that a talebearer separates close friends, and that “a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren” are an abomination unto the Lord. We should always speak the truth--about ourselves and others.
Kind words: We should speak not only words that are true but words that will uplift others and show others in a positive light. Sometimes, it may not be the actual words spoken, but the tone in which those words are spoken, that makes those words unkind. An anonymous poet wrote, “Keep anger not only out of your words - Keep it out of your voice.” The tongue can be used as a weapon; words can cut more deeply than the sharpest sword. James 1:26 says that, if a person cannot control his tongue, his religion is useless. James 3:8 says that the tongue can be “an unruly evil, full of deadly poison, set on fire of hell.” We should always be kind--genuinely kindhearted, considerate, careful, caring, compassionate, gentle, and thoughtful --for we should want our speech to reflect the goodness of the God we are representing. And we should realize that, in the day of judgment, we will give account for every word we have spoken, and our words will either justify us or condemn us (Matthew 12:36-37). Our tongue reveals the state of our heart in our closeness to the Lord.
Consistent words: James 3:9-12 asks how we can use our same tongue to bless God and then to curse our fellow man: Can a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? And we should not show partiality to whom we would be kind. We should be consistent with our words, and consistent with our kindness. The words of our mouth and the tone of our speech should not be determined by whom we are with at a particular moment. We should be consistently kind toward everyone, and we should be consistently truthful.
Encouraging words: We should encourage others, with our words and with our actions, remembering that Jesus said that the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love others.
We need to always have an attitude toward others that is pleasing to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for, when we take His name, we are representing Him. With our words and with our deeds, we should always let everyone see Jesus in us.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14
2007