Proverbs 12:18. There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Over and over again the Bible tells us about the power of our words. God created everything simply by speaking. Jesus healed people simply by speaking. God’s words are powerful. Our words are powerful too. We know that words are the primary way that we relate to others. So too with God, we are meant to hear God’s word and respond to it. That is the basis of our relationship with him. In the same way, we are meant to hear and speak words to others and respond to one another. This too is the basis of all our interpersonal relationships.
Solomon says that our words can either be like cutting sword thrusts or they can bring healing. Our words can destroy or they can restore.
The wise person understands just how powerful their words are, but the fool uses rash words. They respond in outbursts. Rash words, or cruel, impulsive words, words spoken without thinking, are like the cut from a sword or knife. It might heal over time but there will always be a scar. And if the cuts continue, eventually there may be no hope for reconciliation. Why? Because when you speak rashly to someone they will remember it for a very long time. Even if you say that you didn’t mean it, the damage is still done.
In the New Testament, James warns about rash words too:
James 3:6. And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
Clearly, our words are very important, with the power to inflict great damage like a small flame that becomes a roaring fire. Therefore, we must be slow to speak, and quick to listen. But how?
This takes more than just self-control and habit formation (but, of course, not less than these). Jesus taught us that out of the heart the mouth speaks. Therefore, rash words that are meant to stab and cut come from a cruel heart. What is the cure for the cruel heart? The gospel of grace. The more we meditate on the gospel, the more we take the time to preach the gospel to ourselves, the more our cruelty will melt away. And with it our natural impulse will change. Rash words will be replaced by words that build up rather than tear down.
Ephesians 4:29-32. 29Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Jesus never spoke a rash word, everything he said was Spirit led and meant to build up – even when he said hard things. Christ in us has transformed our hearts so that the transformation of the mouth is now possible, even inevitable. With heart transformation comes words transformation. Practice hearing Christ’s gentle words to you. Words that are never rash, cruel, impulsive, demeaning, accusing, or false. Hear his words of kindness, forgiveness, grace, and empowerment. Let them soak in. Let them flow out.
You: Do you tend to speak rashly? To whom?
You in Christ: How can you listen to Christ’s words of gospel grace today?
Christ in you: Is there someone that you tend to be rash with? How can you practice Ephesians 4:29-32 with them?
Pray: Father, let your gospel of grace in your Son empower my words to transform from rash to healing. Amen.
To Live is Christ 