Sticks and Stones...

My recent examination of James' letter for Sunday teaching, along with some conversations and a blog I follow, has led me to review the importance of my word choice. The way I speak sows either life or death. As a child, I learned the adage, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me.” Though widely quoted since 1857, the second half of the line is false. Words can definitely harm people. I could quote dozens of verses from every portion of the Bible about the power of how we speak and the words we use. I’ll just quote one passage from Jesus’ brother James. “It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.” James 3:5 (MSG) I’ve been guilty of careless and wrongly placed words. My words have damaged people’s worlds, “turned harmony to chaos” and muddied reputations. I’m not proud of some things I’ve said. I know they’ve hurt others and I will have to give an account for destructive words. The words we use are so important that Jesus said: “I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.” Matthew 12:36-37 (NLT) Did you catch that? We “must give an account” for every idle, careless, useless word we speak and what we say will either leave us innocent or guilty. Those verses, and many others, fosters the fear of God in me. I wonder how “accounting” will work. Will my words be played back for me to review and defend? Will other people listen to the review of my words in a giant tribunal? I’d like to know how the “give an account” works. Maybe I don’t. If I knew what the defense of my words was going to look like, I might never talk again out of sheer panic. I periodically pray King David’s prayer: “LORD, help me control my tongue; help me be careful about what I say.” Psalms 141:3 (NCV) Memorize his prayer for those precarious moments when your mouth is about to get you in trouble.