The Power of Words —

Words have tremendous power! Yet in today’s world, words are cheap; they tend to mean everything and nothing at the same time. We can point out something and it be taken in a derogatory way, and then be accused of hate speech. But depending on where and to whom you’re speaking, some would consider those same words as free speech. Words are powerful because they flow from our heart and communicate lifechanging ideas.

When we think about Jesus Christ, the Word who became flesh, He did not use his words lightly. Each word carried a tremendous amount of weight and spiritual power. He not only spoke about His kingdom, he healed people with His words. As followers of Jesus Christ, we need to be careful what we say and how we say it because the Spirit of Christ flows through us. James explains it this way, “Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?” (James 4:11-12).

This month let’s pay special attention to the way Christ uses words compared to the way we use words. As believers in Jesus Christ, we need to check our spirit before and after we speak, because what comes out of our mouth reveals the depths of our heart and our devout affection for Jesus Christ. Words are out of control today, but as believers we are called by God to keep control over our mouth through the power of the Holy Spirit.