A study of speech

     I have been thinking a lot lately about how we as Christians should use our speech.  It is really a shame how often we misuse our tongues when they are such a gift to us.  No animal or plant has the ability to communicate with their speech like we can; it is yet another reality that uniquely separates us as people from the world around us.  And the fact that our Creator allows us to speak to Him in prayer, praise Him out loud or even have the pleasure of singing is astounding!  That He would grant us such privileges should leave us full of awe and remind us to guard them very carefully.

"Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say

in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake.

Why should God be angry on account of your voice

 and destroy the work of your hands?  For in many dreams

and in many words there is emptiness.  Rather, fear God."

Ecclesiastes 5:6-7

     I have a feeling that this verse illustrates your life as often as it does mine.  How many times to we say something careless and then make the excuse that it was a simple mistake? "I didn't mean it like it sounded, really!"  "It just slipped out!"

     

     You know, if you are in a conversation and aren't sure what to say, it is a dangerous thing to just say anything that comes to your mind to fill up the silence.  If there is no reason for whatever you are about to speak, it will be mere emptiness.  No purpose will be served to edify the person you are talking to.  Because that should be the driving force behind everything we say--to edify each other!  Notice the end of the verse: "Rather, fear God."  The fear of God will give us wisdom on how to encourage each other with the right words, which is the one of the best things that we can do with our tongues.

     As Christians, the Holy Spirit dwells in us and will give us the words to speak if we seek them from His prompting.  Listen to Matthew 10:19-20.

"But when they hand you over, do not worry about

how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in 

that hour what you are to say.  For it is not you who speak,

but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you."

     Jesus was warning the disciples in this passage about upcoming persecution.  If there was ever a time to be lost for words and desperate for them, I think that would be it!  But He comforted them by telling them that the Holy Spirit would give them the correct words in that very hour, because it is He who speaks.  I don't know about you, but that is a great comfort to me for any time of uncertainty regarding speech.

     So many useless or even bad words are easy to say if we are not guarding ourselves.  So I pray that God would direct our speech in ways that glorify Him, and that we would have the courage to stand up to our flesh and obey the Lord's instruction concerning our words. Remember, the power of the Holy Spirit is in us and He knows how to rescue the godly from temptation (2 Peter 2:9)!