The reason we should eat healthy is because food is the number one way you interact with the environment. Forget air pollution or germs or sunburns or floods or poison.
The biggest impact you will have on your health is what you SWALLOW.
In the same way, we must control our words, because our words are the number one way we interact with the world. How do you share God’s love, and the hope and joy people need so badly right now? Through WORDS of HOPE. Nearly everything you will ever do to make a difference for Christ, you will do with WORDS. And people are listening!
The biggest impact you will have on the people around you is what you SPEAK.
But can you control what you say? YES! Paul writes, “Do not let unwholesome words come out of your mouth, but only such a word as is good for encouragement, that it may give GRACE to those who hear” Ephesians 4:29. James is even stronger: “If anyone thinks he is a Christian and does not bridle his tongue, he is deceiving himself and his faith is worthless” James 1:26.
What about Jesus? Did He ever speak on the tongue? Yes. Jesus said, “The good man out of the good treasure in his heart produces good, and the evil man, out of the evil treasure produces evil, for OUT OF THE ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART, THE MOUTH SPEAKS” Luke 6:45. Whatever is in your heart is going to come out. May our hearts be filled with God’s hope and love and grace and peace and joy.
Jesus also said that we will have to explain our bad words: “On the day of judgment, people will give account for every careless word they speak” Matt. 12:36. And that makes sense—because words are IMPORTANT. Your words are number one. They are the most powerful thing you have, after your prayers. Consider Proverbs:
“DEATH and LIFE are in the power of the tongue,” 18:24.
And “a gentle tongue is a TREE OF LIFE, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit” 15:4.
Your tongue has the power of life and death. Use it wisely.
ΑΩ
Household Words: 