Spiritual guidance powered by AI and grounded in Scripture
Your Question:
Can our words have the power to uplift or tear down in a world of noise?
Answer:
As a pastor and a husband, I've seen firsthand the power of words to uplift or tear down. Words spoken with malice can cut deeply, and I've had to counsel my congregation on the importance of choosing their words carefully. In fact, Dan Allender and Tremper Longman encourage us to think of our words as seeds that can bring a harvest of fruit, either blessing God or causing harm. The Bible is clear about the power of words. Proverbs tells us that speech has great power for both good and harm, and that words can bring life or cause death (18:21; 12:6). They can cause healing or inflict damage like a sword (12:18; 14:25; 15:4), and they can restore joy to an anxious person (12:25). As a Christian, I believe that the words we speak should be like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces, as the Lord says in Jeremiah 23:29. We should use our words to build up and edify one another, not to tear down. In our busy lives, it's easy to get caught up in the noise and forget the impact of our words. But as the Psalmist says, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord" (Psalm 19:14). I pray that my words will be a source of blessing and encouragement to those around me, and that I will be mindful of the power of language to uplift or tear down. As the Bible says, "For every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it on the day of judgment" (Matthew 12:36).
Sources:
sacred marriage
gary thomas
proverbs
lindsay wilson
christian apologetics
douglas groothius
introduction to new testament
carson and moo
systematic theology
wayne grudem
trilogy
francis shaeffer
power of a praying wife
stormie omartian
dogmatic theology
shedd
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