Words

I’ve heard it said, ‘You are master of your unspoken word and slave to that which should have gone unsaid.’

In Numbers 13 & 14 the children of Israel reject God’s promise to be with them to go into the Promised Land. Instead, fear has them saying it would have been better to die in the wilderness, it would have been better to have stayed in Egypt, it was wrong of Moses to bring them out there in the first place.

God gave them exactly what they were talking about – they can stay in the wilderness and die there. Only those who were nineteen years old and younger would be permitted to receive the Promised Land. It would take forty years to make this happen. Because of their words, which reflected their heart condition of faithlessness, they were now without a country. They couldn’t go into the Promised Land, they couldn’t stay where they were, and they weren’t accepted in any of the kingdoms in the area.

Words they wish they wouldn’t have spoken, I’m sure.

We’ve all been there. We’ve all said things we later realized we shouldn’t have said. Sometimes it's instantaneous, sometimes it’s many years later, either way they are out there hanging in the air forever.

James, Jesus’ brother, says, ‘No one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!’ (James 3:8-10)

I recognize first that he is talking to Christians. Whoops. But wait, we are all learning to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, so let’s realize that the life lived in this world isn’t going to be perfect, or even easy. We don’t get to get it right all the time.

Proverbs 18:21 says that ‘The tongue can bring death or life.’

Jesus spoke to this in Matthew 5:23-24 ‘So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.’ This is important enough that God would rather wait till we get back. Wow.

Solomon finishes his proverb with, ‘and those who love to talk will reap the consequences.’ I wonder if he was thinking about his ancestors at all and the journey they had taken as a people?

James writes about this use of our words. He has observed how God’s people use them as both aggressive weapons and personal justification, ‘Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves…if you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.’ (James 1:19-22, 26)

It’s easy to look at this broken world that wants less and less to do with the Gospel of Christ and not get motivated to want to do something about it. It’s even easier to use our words to call it on the carpet so to speak. As Christians though, we are not sent to the world to convict it of its sin, that’s the role of the Holy Spirit, we are sent to the world to be salt and light – preservation and illumination!

In Matthew 5:14 Jesus says, ‘You are the light of the world – like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.’

Like I said, it’s easy to use our words to defend our beliefs and convictions, and it’s even easier to use our words to speak against the beliefs and convictions of those not like our own. It’s even easy to use this passage in Matthew to justify taking a stand verbally against a world that is going further and further from the truth of God’s word.

But also remember, Jesus said it wasn’t by words that they will recognize the work of God, it would be by our good deeds. I don’t believe He’s referring to philanthropy and religious works. I believe He’s referring to a generous heart, a patient demeanor, a likeable spirit, a tolerant attitude, a kind personality, a dependable character, a faithful soul, a strong walk, a confidence in our Lord that surpasses learning and can only be counted as a work of God. I believe this to be another way to say it is the fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23) This is the kind of work, or deeds, the Holy Spirit produces in us. Any other work that uses words to judge the world, or convict it of its sin, or unrighteousness is actually us trying to do the work of the Holy Spirit.

It’s not our role as God’s children.

In John 16:8-9 Jesus says, ‘And when [the Holy Spirit] comes, He will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in Me.’

Yep, it’s a broken world we live in and our words that are laced with anger or hate or fear or judgment or accusations of blame will not turn it around. As God’s children, we can show the goodness of God by sharing what He has done for us and is doing in us right now. This can show in how we work, volunteer, spend time with a neighbor, help the poor and needy, use our time, and much more as we live out our lives, but especially with how we use our words.