By Thy Words

“For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matthew 12:37).

You can tell an awful lot about people just by listening to them talk for a few minutes. Consider thy words. What comes out of a man’s mouth will reveal what is in his heart (Matthew 12:34-35).

Words have unbelievable power. Solomon warned: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). James wrote: “The tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity“(James 3:5,6).

Christianity demands that we bridle our tongue (James 1:26). The Bible is clear!

• “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29)
• “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man” (Colossians 4:6)
• “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor” (Ephesians 4:25)

Consider thy words and ask three questions before speaking.

• Are the words kind?
• Are they pure?
• Are they true?

If our speech doesn’t pass all three tests then we should be silent. “He that keepeth his words keepeth his life” (Proverbs 13:3).

The way we say something is every bit as important as what we say. This is especially true when tempers flare. “A soft answer turneth away wrath” (Proverbs 15:1). And, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Proverbs 25:11).

Our words do reveal the content of our heart. Gossip, lying, profanity, and vulgarity all are symptoms of a diseased heart.

If we are not careful our words may come back to haunt us. “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” (Matthew 12:36-37).

Therefore, “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (James 1:19).