“The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.” Proverbs 15:4

“But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.  For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”  Matthew 12:36-37

Words are powerful.  Most of us will find ourselves guilty at times of saying things we regret.  Sometimes this is because we speak too quickly, without reflecting.  Sometimes this is because we are angry and in moments of frustration we may say things we do not truly mean.

If we want to change our world and make our world more loving, more merciful, more forgiving then we must pause and consider are our words the stepping stones for the change we want to see or are they stumbling blocks creating hatred, anger and division.

“Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 18:21

We are all taught with words.  Words affect our personality, our disposition, our sense of peace or our sense of angst.

As a young mother I was determined to help my children learn to love and to forgive.  At times I would have to say ‘I am sorry.  Mommy made a mistake and lost her patience.  Please forgive me.”  This enabled my children to say “I forgive you mommy”.  As parents we have power over our children but we cannot use that power to oppress, we must use it carefully to enable them to stay safe and to grow into loving, respectful people.

If at the end of our life we will have to give account for our words (Matthew 12:36-37) then we must slow down our speech and give careful consideration to what impact our words are having and will have.  Will our words sow love and peace or will they sow division, anger, hatred?

Sometimes the best words are no words at all.

“Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29

“Speaking rashly is like a piercing sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”Proverbs 12:18.

For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.” 1 Peter 3:10

Let us pray Psalm 141:3
“Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.”

Friends of Christ, every word we say has the potential to have an enduring impact on someone else.

“The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of discipleship, to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning; He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.” Isaiah 50:4

Let us stay close to Jesus, studying His Word and praying continuously that he guard our tongues so that when we do speak we will speak words that He would approve of.

With our words we can foster discrimination, hatred, anger, even violence, or we can try to sow peace, justice, respect and reconciliation. “…the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze.” James 3:5

“Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29

Friends of Jesus, please join The Mercy Movement.  The Mercy Movement is a global Christian prayer movement that is uniting followers of Jesus all over the world, every day, at the Time Jesus died for us, 3pm (in our local time zones or any time zone convenient for prayer).  At this time we stop and remember Our Lord Jesus dying for us and we say ‘Thank you Jesus for loving us so much that You would give Your life for our salvation.”  At this time we pray for all souls.  We ask Jesus to send us His Holy Spirit to silence the power of the evil one, to stop violence, to end wars and to forgive us and to create peace between God and Man.  This small gesture of thanksgiving to God will bear fruit, enabling us to be all that God wants us to be. Watch how the power of temptation dies as you remember The Passion of Christ.  Put a reminder in your calendars or your phones and join in at 3pm (any time zone) for our unity as One Body of Christ and our prayers for God’s mercy will change our world for the better.

You may also be interested in reading this reflection: Three Words with the Power to Heal and Give Life