Words...

Key Bible Verses: The speech of a good person clears the air; the words of the wicked pollute it. (Proverbs 10:32, The Message) Dig Deeper: Proverbs 10:18-21

"For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart." (Matthew 12:34-35)

Think of your inner life as a big computer server. Every day you shove another gigabyte of life experiences in to the computer. Your tongue will talk most about whatever you bring up out of the CPU of your heart and mind.

The tongue is a mirror to the heart. It only reflects what we hold up in front of it. You could say that the tongue is like a computer. A computer can only do what it is programmed to do.

The tongue can only do what it has been programmed to do. It just shows off my programmed ego, insecurity, selfishness, lack of self-control, and my desire to be God. Nothing comes from the tongue that wasn't in the heart first. Our tongue merely reflects whatever is present in our heart.

You would think we would learn early in life to measure our words before we say them; to listen to them twice in our mind before we say them once. The results can be catastrophic if we don't. Words cut to the core of who we are, and a lot of damage can be created in a hurry when our tongue runs at a high RPM.

Here are some guidelines for measuring your words:

Don't be hasty—think about what's necessary. We're taught never to turn a power tool on unless we know exactly what it is going to do when the blade starts turning. Consider the effect of what you're about to say.

[Don't] exaggerate. Using the words "always" and "never" are good examples—save yourself some grief with your spouse before you say, "You always do this" or "You never do that."

Check your volume. Screaming and yelling to make your point may make you feel better in the short run, but it also gives you more to be sorry for later and causes damage that another may never get over.

[Always ask yourself]: Do my words give life and edify, or do they tear others down?

—Hugh Poland in The Master Carpenter

Adapted from The Master Carpenter (Judson Press, 2008) by permission. All rights reserved by the copyright holder and/or the publisher. May not be reproduced.

Thought to Apply:

Cold words freeze people, and hot words scorch them, and bitter words make them bitter, and wrathful words make them wrathful. Kind words also produce their own image on men's souls; and a beautiful image it is. They soothe, and quiet, and comfort.—Blaise Pascal (French scientist)