The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. — Proverbs 10:11-12
Words command action, evoke emotion and paint images; but what they paint, evoke is up to the person speaking them. All of our words strung together present a message. What message do your words bring to those who hear them?
Like a fountain quenches thirst, the words of the righteous give life to those who hear. In contrast, Proverbs warns about the destruction of the words of the wicked. Words carry weight. As much as we try to say that words don’t damage us, they stick around longer than we would like to admit.
As Christ followers our words are meant to bring life. But how often, riddled by our own selfish motives, do our we choose destructive words? Caught in the trap of comparison, when is the last time you cut someone down to a friend to make yourself feel better? Fueled by frustration, when is the last time you made a biting comment to a coworker?
Pursuing righteousness is not easy. Upholding a holy lifestyle seems impossible, but we are to strive to be like Jesus in every moment and that means choosing words that bring life. Choosing kindness in times of frustration, humility even if you think you’ve done all the work to deserve the credit, forgiveness when someone hurts you again.
We carry the greatest message of all. We hold the story of the One Who Saves, a story of hope and redemption. Don’t let destructive words darken the light that we, as Christians, are called to bring.
As you reflect on the message in your words consider:
- What weight do your words carry? Are they life-giving or destructive?
- Who is affected by your words? Is there anyone that you need to apologize to for speaking destructive words towards?
- Who is one person that you could share God’s truth with this week?
In a world that slumps with the weight of hate there is hope. God’s love bears the answer that our lost world needs. As you go about your day, may your words bring the joy that is needed to bring our world back to life.
