As a young child, I recall that at the end of the morning prayer at the end of family worship, we would repeat Psalm 19:14, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord my strength and my Redeemer” (NKJV). Occasionally, I would ponder on the scripture as my mother would remind me that God was the “silent listener to every conversation.”
Words are integral to my love of the English language, which I have studied both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. You can change one word in a sentence and shift the atmosphere or mood of a poem. Words can be transactional, but also transformational. They can evoke joy but invite sadness. They can harm and they can heal.
Words Matter.
But our words, especially those used in conversation and debate, are the product of our thoughts, our feelings, our trauma, our misconceptions, and our ideologies. Some consider the use of language carefully and construct curated sentences, while others employ the power of improvisation or spontaneity in conversation or debate. Some conversations or debates are focused on facts or data, while others are filtered through the lens of hearsay and speculation.
Whichever of these methods suits you best, the words that we speak, except those done under duress (which in and of themselves scream volumes), originate from our thoughts, the things that keep us up at night, the pain that never goes away, the fears of fading hopes.
Words Matter.
As faithful stewards, we are aware that “…the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things… The tongue is also a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire... …No man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:5-8 Berean).
Wow! James pulls no punches. His radical candour should be a ‘wake-up call’ to us as Christian stewards. We have a responsibility to our God and to each other to use words of kindness and compassion, and that will uplift and not tear each other down.
So how do we do this?
Once again, James is clear, it is through the wisdom that comes from God, through “…good conduct, by deeds done in humility…” (vs 13). The practice of these enables wholesome thoughts, which in turn will be emitted as wholesome words. He warns against harbouring “…bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts…” (vs 14) for when these exist, “…there will be disorder and every evil practice (vs 16).
He concludes by stating that “…the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (vs 17). Imagine if all of us as Christians demonstrated that kind of wisdom in our words, what a ‘wonderful world it would be’.
Prayer
Almighty Lord
Maker of Heaven and Earth
Creator of the world
We ask Your forgiveness for the thoughts that are invisible to others but are manifested through words that are unkind, uncaring and unholy. For the times that we have uttered words of anger, used abusive language, retaliated to satisfy our egos, gossiped so that we felt superior and murdered with hurtful words.
As you are the LORD of wisdom, grant us the time and space to spend with You so that our thoughts may reflect Your thoughts, so that the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts may be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD our strength and our Redeemer.