Mona Selden writes daily devotions for her church, Marion Baptist, in south-central Virginia. She is co-host with her pastor on The Mosaic of Marion podcast. She is the author of two 31-day devotionals. Her writing and teaching are done with the desire to help others get to know God better through His Word. Mona’s husband is USAF Retired. They are enjoying their newly empty nest and have become grandparents for the first time.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue…
Proverbs 18:21a, ESV
Perhaps you have heard the old adage, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” You may have even said it to ward off the hurt. Most likely, you realize it is simply not true. Words can hurt. Words can wound us deeply. According to Proverbs 18:21, words can even kill.
This statement in Proverbs leaves no doubt or room for argument. The words we choose to say have the power to bring life or to bring death. As leaders, what we say to those we are doing ministry with and for is so important. We must be aware of the power of our words so that we can choose to say words that bring life and not death. If we are not speaking words that bring life, then we are defeating the very ministry we are doing.
In our ministry, our words should be those that build up and give grace (Ephesians 4:29). As leaders, we need to be mindful of how our words benefit others spiritually. We need to examine our words to make sure they edify, instruct, inform, enlighten, and lift up those around us. Our words are to be gracious, giving a blessing to those around us. Our gracious, pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Proverbs 16:24 tells us. They are “sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” These are the words that will bring life to those around us.
On our own, there’s not much hope of taming our tongue. James makes this clear in chapter 3. But in God’s Word, we find prayers we can pray to help us with the words we speak. We can pray David’s prayer, that God would set a guard over our mouths, that He would keep watch over the door of our lips (Psalm 141:3). We ask God to keep watch over what comes out of our mouths so that we do not speak careless and worthless words. We ask for a guard over our mouths so that those words that cut and kill cannot come out. Psalm 19:14 gives us another of David’s prayers for his words. Like him, we can ask that the words of our mouths would be pleasing and acceptable to God.
David’s request in Psalm 19:14 included the meditations of his heart. He knew where his words came from. Jesus said our words come from our hearts (Matthew 12:34). If we desire to speak words of life, we must have good treasures in our hearts (Matthew 12:35). When we take in God’s Word, when we meditate on it, when we are in communion with Jesus, then those good treasures in our hearts will bring forth life-giving words.
The words we speak matter—especially as leaders. Let’s determine to be leaders who speak words of life, words of building up, and words of grace.
