UNITED STATES
A WING AND A PRAYER
Carlin Lawrence carlin@agairupdate.com
Thoughtless Words Causes Many Problems
The words that are the worst in God’s eyes are the words we use to belittle, put down, denigrate, lie about and hurt other people.
B 30 | agairupdate.com
Jesus said, “I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken” (Matthew 12:36). When I hear someone telling a dirty joke, I always remember what the apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. …Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving (Ephesians 4:29; 5:4). David said, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14). The Bible has a lot to say about the careless use of words. Most people think that curse words are the worst words we speak—and they are evil, but I think that the words that are the worst in God’s eyes are the words we use to belittle, put down, denigrate, lie about, and hurt other people. Solomon wrote, “Do not be quick with your mouth,
do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:2). Sometimes I wonder if we even realize what we’re saying! It’s easy, in a moment of heated emotions, or exchange of words, to say things that we soon regret. I don’t think that any of us are guiltless in this area of our lives. The long-term damage of the words we speak can be devastating for many years into the future. The Bible tells us that the tongue is wicked, deceitful, perverse, filthy, corrupt, flattering, slanderous, gossiping, blasphemous, foolish, boasting, complaining, cursing, contentious, sensual, and vile. Someone has said that it’s good thing that God put our tongue behind a cage of teeth, and walled in by the mouth, or it would be more destructive than it is. The tongue is you in a unique way. It’s a tattletale that tells on the heart and discloses the real person. Not only that, but the misuse of the tongue is perhaps the easiest way to sin. There
