In our last study, we saw the importance of words, and “taming our tongue” in Christ and by the power of His Spirit in us.
Today, we’ll continue looking at the power of our words, and how the enemy uses our ignorance of this power to cause us to sabotage ourselves.
Life and Death
Among the various things which we deem important in daily life, our words usually don’t rank highly on that list. Naturally, if we’re giving a speech, or in a meeting with the CEO at our job, we give attention to what we say. But, casually, when we’re alone, we don’t think about the power of words that often.
However, the scriptures aren’t shy about detailing the incredible power of words— even to life or to death. In Proverbs 18:21, the scriptures record that Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those that love it will eat its fruit.
This is a very interesting phrase! The tongue holds the power of life and death. Have you stopped to think about that? Do you consider that your words carry that kind of power?
This verse isn’t just referring to words spoken in public, but personally and privately as well. And furthermore, “the tongue” can also take on a metaphorical meaning of the internal conversation that each of us has in our mind, from moment to moment.
We see that those who love it will eat its fruit, which might be a bit hard to understand. The basic idea is that those who love, have affection for their words, will eat the results of those words. This can be a blessing or a warning, depending on whether we are speaking life or death. There are those who truly love to speak death, and it has become a deadly habit for them… you might’ve even met someone like that before— someone who always manages to highlight the negative. The reverse is also true, with those who have a proclivity towards always seeing the positive.
Proverbs 18:21, along with the previous verse 20, mention that a person’s stomach will be filled by the fruit of their mouth. Again driving home the point that whether you speak life or death, that is what you will feed on. So, the scriptures instruct us to respect the power of words, because we will be “eating” the results of what we say!
Your Words Are Actions
The world tries to tell us that we will be satisfied by hard work, blood, sweat, and tears. But the scripture tells us that the real catalyst for satisfaction are the words that we speak… but why?
Well, as many of us know, the very first creative action in the scripture, the God creating everything in Genesis— but notice how He did it… by speaking! God could’ve created everything using any method or means that He wanted… but He chose to use words. Likewise, we who are made in His image have a similar ability. As we read last time in James chapter 3, the entire course of our life is tied to our tongue, and speaking is an action which reveals what we truly believe, as mentioned in 2nd Corinthians 4:13. So in a real way, our speaking is an action of belief with creative power given to us from God. And this is where the self-sabotage can also come into play,
Taking the Enemy’s Traps and Tricks
Although many Christians are unaware of the power of their words, the enemy is all too cognizant of them, and he uses our ignorance to great effect. We see examples of the devil’s devices as early as Genesis chapter 3, where the serpent deceived Eve, but did so in an intriguing way, as you read through the account in verses 1 through 5, you’ll notice that the serpent subtly alters the name of God, to remove the LORD, which denotes the covenant relationship that Adam and Eve had with God, and Eve also begins to use that same language in her responses. We can literally see her become more confused as the conversation continues, as she misquotes the LORD’s instructions, mentioning that they are not allowed to eat or touch the fruit of the forbidden tree (something God never said to them).
The devil still uses the same tactics against Christians today. In Matthew 6:25, Jesus says to take no thought, Therefore I say to you, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
But how can we do what Jesus advises? How do we take a thought or not? Good question! Look at verse 31:
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Do you see it? Take no thought, saying!
Don’t repeat the devil’s words of doubt, fear, and defeat. Don’t adopt his language, but instead remind yourself of the truth of Christ, and His care for you as Jesus is detailing here in these verses.
The devil tries to get us to use our powerful words to sabotage ourselves through our own ignorance, but now that we’ve exposed this trap, we can be better informed about this dangerous ploy.
Conclusion
I encourage you today, stay focused on Christ, and remember the love and care that God has for you. To not doubt His goodness as Eve did, and not to take the enemy’s worrisome thoughts by repeating negative language.
Your words carry great power— use them to edify yourself and others in the truth of Christ!
I look forward to thriving with you again.
Be blessed.