Watch Your Words!

The spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

 “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” This phrase often used by many is simply not true. Words do hurt emotionally and words can hurt your future. Our lives were created with words. God spoke us into existence and when He is ready for us to be taken from this present world He will speak again. Words have power as they are powerful. In fact Proverbs 18:21 tells us that, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” Eat the fruit thereof? Yes, that means you will literally have what you speak. So the more positivity you speak the more positive outcomes you will see. The more negativity you speak the more negative outcomes you will see in your life.

 

 Life is but a vapor, meaning it’s but a moment, so why spend that moment speaking words that will hurt you and in the end destroy you? I know it may sound simple but those that are going to inherit the kingdom of God must accept this simplistic principle; that we have what we say. How often do you find yourself going throughout your day laughing and saying, “ I’m weak, or I’m so weak” this is a popular colloquialism that the world has adopted to symbolize how funny something is; but can I suggest to you, that this is also a “popular expression” that is leading to the destruction of many lives. This is just one among many phrases that we have incorporated into our everyday vocabulary but it’s not the talk or dialect of God.

 

 God tells us to meditate on His word day and night; meaning to rehearse, think deeply and even chant. Well, if we are meditating on the word of God and His words become our conversation pieces then that means we aren’t speaking evil, we aren’t belittling others, and we aren’t meddling in other men’s affairs. Meditating on God’s word enables us to only speak words that are uplifting, informative, encouraging, loving and gracious. Many years ago there was a famous slogan that said, “what would Jesus do?” I challenge you to ask yourself daily, “what would Jesus say?” Before you put yourself down, before you cast stones at another believer or non believer who has seemingly messed up, ask yourself; “what would Jesus say?” This simple yet powerful question will help guide you to the right path of simply watching your words on a daily basis.

 

Our words have the ability to bring life, and bring curses; we can do damage with our words. In fact, James tells us that the tongue is one unruly part of us that cannot be tamed. James 3:8 “But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” We must be very careful with our words. Some trials that we’ve faced, some illnesses that we have contracted, some problems that we have encountered could have been avoided had we watched our words. Not saying that all the bad things we face in life are a direct result of our words; but placing emphasis on the fact that our words are powerful and can change the trajectory of our lives. If you don’t believe in just how powerful your words are, go and read Luke chapter 1 particularly verse 20 which reads, “And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.” There you will find that God shut the mouth of Zechariah until his son John was born. He did so because of Zechariah’s unbelief and when you and I don’t believe in a thing we start to speak negatively concerning it. God shut his mouth and made him mute. He didn’t have the ability to speak and sabotage the destiny of John, the forerunner of Jesus. This is all because once again our words are powerful and they can bless or curse our future. 

 

A lot of us ignore the fact that we devalue and belittle even our own selves by the words that we speak concerning ourselves. No one will believe in you unless you believe in yourself first and you can only do that by speaking positive, life changing words over yourself. I dare you to practice changing the way you speak about yourself for the next week, no negativity just good thoughts and good words spoken over your own life through your mouth. Try this and see the difference that you feel. Watch the God given confidence arise within you and take notice of even your posture. You will begin to walk in Holy boldness knowing that all that you are is only by the grace of God and because He values you, you value yourself enough to speak only good things. David tells us in Psalm 37:3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Trust God and do good. He doesn’t want you to just do good by others but He wants you to be good to yourself. Trust Him and do good for you.  While Psychiatrist often emphasize the importance of having good mental health, one of the first places to start is by speaking better. Watch your words and know that life and death is in what you say! Are you choosing life or death? Choose LIFE. 

 Arkimberly Jiles