Pointing to Jesus

Psalm 19:14- Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

What we say matters. Why we say it matters. The Bible has a lot to say about our words- how we should speak, what we should and shouldn’t be saying, etc.  The Bible is very clear and specific on this topic.

This is not for condemnation, but for consideration, and if need be, conviction by the Holy Spirit. We should weigh the words that we speak by the Word of God. Just a few of the many scriptures the Bible has to say about our speech:

Psalm 34:13– Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.

Psalm 141:3– Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!

Proverbs 10:19– When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

Proverbs 11:12– Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent.

Proverbs 12:18– There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Matthew 12:36, 37– I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Ephesians 5:19– addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,

2 Corinthians 12:20– For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder.

Colossians 3:8– But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

2 Timothy 2:16-But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness,

James 4:11– Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

Again, this is just a few of the many, many verses on this topic in the Bible. If different verses say the same thing about our speech, or almost the same thing, pay attention to that because repetition is very important.

Before the words ever come out of our mouths, they are already in our hearts  Matthew 12:34b, Luke 6:45b- out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. That’s why it’s so important to be careful about what we listen to, watch, read, etc. Those things go into our mind, go into our hearts and come out our mouths.

When it comes to our words, first and foremost, we need to ask if what we are about to say lines up with the Word of God. We can also use the THINK acronym- T- is it Truthful?, H- is it Helpful?, I- is it Inspiring?, N- is it Necessary?, K- is it Kind?

Our words hold weight. Let’s use wise words.  Let’s let the weight of our words tip more towards the Word of God and not the ways of the world.

Many blessings,

Desiree