Words, are they important?

Throughout the day and our whole lives we say a lot of stuff. We may have serious conversations and at times we are just having fun with family and friends. For the most part we don’t really think about the possible consequences of some of what we may say to each other or about ourselves. Jesus speaks of idle words that men speak and how these words are going to be used in the end as an accounting of our lives. Matthew 12:35-37 Jesus speaks of our words being more important than what we think they are. Do we live in fear that everything we say as some form of weight on them that they will doom us in the end? No, but we do need to be careful of the IDLE words that we use. These would be the pointless words that we may use against someone or even against ourselves. Cruel and useless words are the one we want to try to work on avoiding and using or even dwelling upon in our heads. Words have a lot of power in them. How we use them or take them from others can affect our lives drastically.

One account that I will always remember is the account of Herod in the book of Acts. In Acts 12:21-23 Herod gives a wonderful speech, which isn’t fully recorded but the affect it has on the people there listening to it must have been profound considering how they responded to it. They shout “It is the voice of a god, and not of a man” and because not just for what they had said but that Herod did not give the praise to God he was eaten by worms. Here is a perfect example of the power of words and an outcome I am sure none of us wants to befall ourselves.

God’s word is the most powerful of them all. When we confront Satan in this world we use God’s words against him. God’s word is spoken of as a two edge sword (Hebrew 4:12). In Matthew 4:1-11 when Satan is trying to tempt Jesus in the wilderness they go back and forth using the word of God to win their side of the argument. When Jesus responded with “as it is written” then Satan comes back also with “as it is written”. Both of them knew the power of God’s word. We need to be mindful of the power of God’s word and to use it correctly and not use it for evil as Satan’s intentions were.

We need to be careful of what and how we say things and to who we say them as well. Solomon speaks of words in Proverbs but for me one of the most insightful when it comes to understanding what we say is mentioned in Proverbs 6:2. He says that we can be snared and taken by the very words we say. I like to put it this way, if we say something like “I’m not feeling well, I must be coming down with a cold”. We may not be truly coming down with one, but Satan can begin to word on those words so that they come to pass. Or you may something to someone saying that they have something that they may not have and again Satan can begin working on those words so that they come to pass. There are a lot of times where I could say something but I hold those words back because I know that though they may seem innocent I don’t want to give any more ammunition to the Devil than what he already has to use against us.

There is another area where words are important and can be powerful. That area is when it comes time to name a child. People give names that may have sentimental reason; biblical importance or they just think a certain name just sounds good for their child and you have some that give their children names that are just strange so that they will be different from everyone else. When you have time you should go through the Bible and find the meaning of people’s names and then see if you can find an important event in their lives that corresponds to their name that they are well known for. I will give you just a few for starters.

Ishmael “God will hear” – Genesis 21:17; though Ishmael was named many years before this, it was his cry that the LORD heard and responded to and would save his life.

Jacob “Supplanter” – Genesis 25:26; Jacob would gain the birthright and blessing that would normally go to the first born, which never seems to happen in the Bible.

Miriam “Rebellious” – Numbers 12:1-15; Miriam was rebellious when she along with Aaron spoke against Moses.

Names given to children, especially to those of God’s people hold more weight than most even think.

We need to be careful in all we say, since we are to be representatives of the LORD. We will give an account of what we say in the end as Jesus had warned in Matthew 12:35-37. Do not forget that we are held to a higher standard than those out in the world. What we say and do reflects upon the God we serve and love.