Do you remember the old schoolyard rhyme that went, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me?” It’s a misleading little idiom meant to say physical harm is more damaging than emotional harm, but as many of us know from experience, both can leave a lasting impact. Words seem so small, even trivial, yet many times throughout history, they have been strung together in very powerful ways. For example, words were powerful enough to spark the American Revolution, and words, in the form of speeches, pamphlets, and books, carried the cause of several resistance movements. Whoever said, “Talk is cheap,” poorly misjudged the reality of their statement. Words have the ability to destroy, to restore, to hurt, and to heal; but they are never cheap. They are costly and powerful. Proverbs 18:21 tells us, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits" (ESV). Time has proven what the Bible has been telling us all along: words carry significant power.  

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If words carry that much power, it seems necessary to understand what gives them life and to practice using them well. This has not been the easiest lesson of my life, so as we walk through this together, please don’t think I have it all worked out! Every one of my report cards growing up had the “excessive talking” code marked in the comment section – words have always been both my strength and my weakness. They served me well in Mock Trial competitions and in teaching, but there have been times when the words coming out of my mouth (or my keyboard) have caused harm and not good. It takes so much time and a lot of growth to learn how to use words well, but the lesson begins by taking inventory of what we put into our hearts.

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Jesus reminds us in Matthew 12:34 that our words flow from the condition of our hearts. That sounds easy enough, but it begs the question: How do we fill our hearts in such a way that what comes out is good and not destructive? The simplest answer is that what goes in will come out. What we focus on directs our thoughts, which in turn determines our actions and our words. If we fill our minds with goodness, wisdom, love, and grace, those things will take root in our hearts and will find their way out of our mouths. The opposite is also true. Think for a minute about a day when you’ve spent a lot of time focusing on all the difficult, heavy things on social media. If you’re like me, too much time spent on that path leads to a downward spiral mindset and some pretty discouraging conversations. We don’t want to live blind if we want to actively engage in culture and make a difference in our spheres of influence, but we also have to purposely retrain our thoughts to focus on whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8). We must bring light to the darkness, but we aren’t able to speak words of life into our daily conversations when we’re deliberately feeding our hearts with destruction. We need to pay attention to what’s going in and how it affects what’s going out. This is what the Bible means when it says, "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (Prov. 4:23 NLT). What goes in will eventually come out, and when it does, it will impact the trajectory of your life.

What are you doing to guard your heart today? Not just the physical organ itself but the core identity of who you are as someone rooted in Christ – your beliefs, your decision making, your thoughts, and your actions. Our words have the ability to be instruments of restoration or weapons of destruction. That’s not the kind of power we want to take lightly. We must be careful to feed our hearts with things that allow goodness, healing, and love to take root within us if we want those things to flow from our lips. Something so powerful must be trained. So, today, when you find yourself ready to respond with words (written or spoken), take a minute to pause and consider the impact they will have on the recipient. Will they heal or hurt, build up or tear down, offer hope or discouragement? Are they necessary? Be intentional with your words today. Fill your home and your daily environment with words that restore and are seasoned with grace. Doing so reflects the heart of Christ. Let your words be a blessing, not a weapon.