TABLE TALKOur God is a speaking God. The Bible tells us that the universe was created by the word of God (Hebrews 11:3) and that he holds it together by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3). That means everything we see is a word of God, and many things we don’t understand, like every angel and demon, every galaxy and quark in existence. One could rightly say God speaks a lot. And every time He spoke it was good. In contrast to God, since the fall of man, the human tongue has always been “a restless evil,” “a world of unrighteousness,” setting whole forests of humanity on fire (James 3:5–8).
How many times following a conflict, once we’re alone, have we felt convicted over the wrong way we spoke to or treated someone? How many times have we then fantasized the kind, loving things we wish we would have said, and rehearsed the forgiveness and reconciliation we wanted? And then how many times, when it comes to actually saying something to the person, have we found it suddenly so hard to own up to our sin, and so started softening and qualifying our apology? Even sometimes resurrecting the conflict rather than resolving it. |
Words are not simply sounds caused by air passing through our larynx. Words have real power. Words carry immeasurable significance: The universe was created with a word; Jesus healed and cast out demons with a word; rulers have risen and fallen by their words; Christians have worshiped through words of song, confession, and preaching. Even in our technological age, politics, education, business, and relationships center on words. Since the tongue is such a powerful force-for good or evil-we are wise to ask: What would homes, churches, schools, even the public square be like if we used words with mercy, intentionality and eloquence? In a culture dominated by the abundance of text messages, tweets, and status updates, we are in desperate need to have a biblical understanding of the power of words. Those who are serious about raising up the next generation of kingdom leaders will take heed to the Bible-saturated wisdom of a timely and often neglected subject.