Be Wise with Your Words
For todays exhortation, leading into our time of silent confession, I want to reflect on a couple verses that struck me this week when I was reading from Psalm 12. In Psalm 12 David writes:
Psalm 12:1-4: “Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man. Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, those who say, ‘With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?’”
It is startling to see the confidence and arrogance that can be put in one’s words to accomplish all they need.The wicked here think, because my tongue is with me, I am my own authority, I am my own god. They say: “our lips are with us; who is master over us”.
In other words, they trust the power of their lips over and against the power of God. They put their hope in what their mouths can accomplish, rather than trust the sufficiency of God. And the allegiance of their tongue is to build their own glory, rather than to display the glory of God, and have any allegiance to the truth.
Our words can carry incredible weight. They can have the power to build up, and to tear down. They can have the power to wound, and to heal. Our words carry immense weight and can often carry immense wickedness.
We may not put our own glory or reputation over God in the ultimate sense, but we still steal pages from that playbook all the time. We rely on our lips to get us through, or accomplish our selfish purposes.
We can use our words to maneuver and present ourselves in a certain way, usually better than we are. We can manipulate with our words to influence others perception of us, if not to bring ourselves up, then at least in subtle ways to bring others down.
And most of the time it’s not premeditated, it just spills out when we find ourselves in uncomfortable situations and desire to look good or save face, rather than trust God and walk in full integrity.
When it comes to the sin of others, it is wicked to inflame these offenses with our words. We can set ablaze a large forrest with provocative words which dishonor God. There is no glory and no Godliness in magnifying the sins of others. Rather, is the glory of a person to overlook an offense. But, we are far more ready to overlook our own offenses than the sins of others, which is just backwards.
When it comes to our sin, consciously and subconsciously we smooth it over. We polish off the edges, make it a little less ugly. And this happens in confession of sins to others, and confession to God. There is no glory in highlighting the jagged edges of some else’s sin, while smoothing over your own. This maneuvering and posturing is wicked, and often without our notice, pours out of our mouths.
It is wicked to open our lips when they should be shut, but it also can be wicked to shut your lips with they should be open.
So, rather than overlook our own offenses, do we confess them? And not just to God, but to the those we have also sinned against, whether they know it or not?
And what about the times when others sin against you, when it their actions or their words that wound and harm? Will you speak of word of grace to them? Will you speak words of forgiveness to them?
Or will you, with allegiance to yourself above God, keep your lips shut rather than extend grace and restoration to one another? Will you glorify God by forgiving one another, as God in Christ Jesus has forgiven you?
So your exhortation this morning is to be wise with your words. Honor God in keeping silent when you should, and Honor God by speaking grace when you should.