It Starts Small

Part of God’s amazing transformation of my life has been in my thought life. Another area God has been transforming my life is in the world of words. As I shared in my post about thoughts, I realized along this journey just how powerful the spoken word is. God’s Word is so powerful he spoke life into existence. With his Word he created this universe. We are made in His imagine and we have two types of power in our own words: good and evil.

This idea of Satan having a weapon has been coming up lately.

¹⁷ No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord. Isaiah 54:17

Satan uses an arsenal of tactics to get us to stumble or to draw us away from our Heavenly Father:

Joy Killer: troubles and sorrows to bring death to our joy.
Illness and Troubles: to get us to doubt God’s presence in our lives or that our Heavenly Father cares about us.
False truth: false doctrine and ideas to lure us away from God’s truth.
Immorality: he uses worldly treasure to get us to commit spiritual adultery and to make things of this world our idol.

All of these together are not as powerful as his mightiest weapon. I believe there is a keyword in this passage: every tongue. I believe Satan’s greatest weapon he uses is the spoken word. Words build or words destroy.

Words that Destroy

The words that destroy or build are centered on how we speak:

To one another
To ourselves
About one another
To the outside community

Many times, Satan urges us to use words that are not truthful. We lie about ourselves, one another, and about our own communities. Lies are how satan spreads fear. Fear is what destroys our relationship with our Heavenly Father, ourselves, our relationships with our family, and in our community. Fear is directly a lie about God himself. It is the oldest weapon in the Bible Satan uses. He does not have to change his tactic because it works so well. If satan can get you to believe a lie about the character and who God is, he has complete control over you.

The Bible is filled with many examples of the power of words to destroy:

Job’s wife is a great example. When Job was stricken with affliction, Job’s wife says to him:

⁹ Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. Job 2:9

These words did not destroy Job’s faith, but it caused him to sink into a great depression in the midst of his misery he was already suffering.

In Numbers 13 we learn about when Moses sent spies into the Promised Land. Not all of the reports were positive. Moses had sent twelve men into the country to spy. Only two of them came back with a positive report. The ten that came back had fear and doubt that it would be possible to conquer the land. Even though Caleb and Joshua tried to sway the people, the other ten succeeded in spreading the fear and doubt. They used fear to convince the people to not go forward as God had commanded them. You find out in chapter 14, where that fear and doubt takes the people. The power in evil words is to motivate people with fear and doubt. The cost of the power of these words was to cause an entire nation and generation to ultimately die in a desert never having seen the promised land. Only the two men who spoke a positive report were allowed into the promised land! Let that sink in a moment.

In Matthew 26 and John 12 we see another example of the power of evil words. A woman came to Jesus and used expensive perfume to anoint the body of Jesus.

⁴ Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, ⁵ Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?⁶ This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. John 12:4-6

⁸ But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? ⁹ For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. Matthew 26:8-9

John quotes Judas as saying the perfume could have been sold and used for a different purpose. Judas spoke out of greed, not concern for the poor. Matthew wrote about how Judas’ words caused them indignation. Indignation is anger an annoyance. Judas had stirred up anger for what appeared to be concern for the poor, but Jesus knew Judas’ heart. He was not concerned for the poor. He was greedy. His evil words sirred up contention and threatened the spirituality of the group.

James, one of my favorite disciples, tell us that words are like fire.

⁶ And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. James 3:6

Words are like fire, a small spark can burn entire tracts of fields. I lived in the western part of the United States and understand how just a small spark, even a bolt of lightning, can set entire mountains and forests ablaze. Evil words are like this. A few wrong words planted at the right place and time can destroy our lives and the lives of those around us.

Words that Build

These examples teach us a great deal about how words can destroy, but what about words that build? How can we use our words to build? Back in the Word of God we see amazing examples of how God uses words to build.

¹¹ A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Proverbs 25:11

Solomon teaches us that our words, spoken in the right place and right time can be bridge builders and live savers.

David is an amazing example! My most favorite part of the story of David and Goliath is what David speaks to Goliath. David’s words turned the tide of battle by proclaiming the victory was not his but the Lord God Almighty!

⁴⁵ Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. ⁴⁶ This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷ And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands. 1 Samuel 17:45-47

In contrast to the spies who spoke fear and doubt into the hearts of Israel, Nehemiah empowered the people:

¹⁷ Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. Nehemiah 2:17

He empowered the people with encouragement to rebuild Jerusalem. Not just the walls, but the temple of God.

Another interesting example is in Thomas. Thomas was known as the disciple that doubted. In a time of despair, when Jesus’ enemies were closing in around them he spoke such amazing encouragement to the others.

¹⁶ Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. John 11:16

Most important we have the written words of Jesus himself. I have spent a great deal of time studying the conversations Jesus had with his disciples, the pharisees, and people he ministered to. Just looking at how he spoke with such love and compassion. His words were encouraging and life affirming. I write about this instance many times before. How Jesus spoke and acted towards this woman was such a teaching moment for me.

¹⁰ When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? ¹¹ She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. John 8:10-11

What a powerful moment and witness John testifies. This! This is how our communication is to be. This is the power our words have. Satan tried to use this woman to trap Jesus, but Jesus flips it on its head and speaks truth and then ministers to the woman with kindness and compassion. Praise the Lord we have a Savior to teach us and show us what words can do! We speak so many words, but only certain words spoken at the right moment can build up, infuse hope into tired souls, and strengthen our resolve to carry on and aim toward the kingdom of God.

Some of the things I try to do to be mindful of my own words:

Choice

You always have a choice in what you speak. No one forces you to speak in kindness or hate. I choose to build up or tear down, lie or tell the truth, support or let fall. My words have an impact on success or failures, creating peace or division, and acceptance or rejection. My words contribute to who I am in my heart. They reveal the depth of my heart. We need to be careful about what we speak and how we speak it. An effective way to determine how we speak is to ask the question: who is speaking? Christ or Satan?

We have the choice on what we fill ourselves with. We can fill ourselves with the Words of Christ or we can fill ourselves with satan’s lies and hate. It is what we choose to fill ourselves with that determines how we speak and what we speak.

As i look back upon the scripture is Isaiah, I am constantly reminded of how I speak and to be careful of how others speak. A lot of what I used to say was driven off of fear, doubt, and emotional responses. I like to not rush conversations. I like to listen intently and pause to let the Holy Spirit give response on what to say. Sometimes that pause can be several days of prayer and meditation. Our words are so important! How we speak, who we speak to and of, how we use our words is very important!

³⁶ But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. ³⁷ For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Matthew 12:36-37