Let’s Talk About…How You Talk

Matthew 15:11  11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

You might think this is going to be a devotional about foul language, or slander, or gossip, or lying. It sortof is, but it isn’t. I don’t want to focus on the exact words, or the exact type of language, so much as the overall effect of what you say. Did you notice that both of those verses told you that your words have the power to cause something to happen? Just as God spoke words in Genesis to bring things into being, your words also create an outcome in the real world. In Matt 15:11 we were told that our language can DEFILE us; what we say can make us dirty, unfit, unworthy. Ephesians 4:29 says the opposite is also true, that what comes out of our mouths can build up others, and bring grace.

So our words can bring either negative or positive change into the world. But what does that mean for us?

1 Peter 3:9-11 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.

OK, ok. I can get behind this. Good speech leads to good days. How does that work? Is that just, like, good karma for good words? Can I just go around saying nice things? Throwing nice quotes into people chats? Sliding into DMs with a positive word of encouragement? How many nice things do I need to say each day? No, it doesn’t quite work like that.

James 3:2-3 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.

Our speech, the way we talk, needs to be good for US. I need to watch my speech because how I talk about things is how I ACT about those things. Now, that’s hard to hear about yourself, but maybe you’ve seen it in someone else. Have you ever known someone who professes to be a nice person, but they say unkind things all the time? Or who says they are trying to fix things at your work, or your church, but all they talk about is what is wrong…never what is right? Or someone who says how much they care about people, but they do so by talking about what that person should be doing but is not? Where do those kinds of words lead us?

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

Whoa. Our words will be used to justify or condemn us to God. They aren’t just the side dish to our actions, they are the plate on which our actions are served. Our words create real change in the world, lead our bodies into action, and are what we’ll be judged on. If you were judged only on what you’ve said recently, what would the judgement be?