Jeremiah 51:54-52:34 / Titus 3 / Psalm 100 / Proverbs 26:18-19
Our words matter; what comes out of our mouths not only reveals what is in our hearts, but they also may build up or destroy those who are listening. I’m sure you would rather be known as a builder instead of a destroyer. Our words will either produce life, health, and peace; bn ”
or death, disease, and chaos in those we are talking with.
As I read Proverbs 26:18-19 today I was struck by how evil our words can be both in our lives and in the lives of others. I will give you these two verses both in the New Living Translation and in The Passion Translation because I believe the sobriety of what you’ll read will impact you even more so with both versions.
Proverbs 26:18-19 NLT: “Just as damaging as a madman shooting a deadly weapon is someone who lies to a friend and then says, ‘I was only joking.’”
Proverbs 26:18-19 TPT: “The one who is caught lying to his friend, who says, ‘I didn’t mean it, I was only joking,’ can be compared to a madman randomly shooting off deadly weapons.”
The scenario depicted here disturbs me both because I despise lying and because the destruction it causes is spoken of very graphically here. First, when someone speaks and then says they were only joking, you can be assured there is at least some measure of truth to their words, or they would not have been spoken.
“Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). When one speaks you can be assured that the words are based on something they believe either consciously or subconsciously. Or the words come because they are speaking of what they’ve been pondering. We can quickly know what a person believes, along with the health of his or her soul by listening to the words they share.
I especially noticed that the words being spoken are from a friend. So, this is someone who you know well and who also knows you. This person would know your hurts, trials, joys, etc. That means they should be more careful about what they speak over and to you.
The comparison of a madman shooting a deadly weapon (NLT) or the madman randomly shooting off deadly weapons (TPT) make these unthoughtful words especially harmful. If you were speaking with a friend who you loved, you wouldn’t grab a weapon and start shooting at them! But that is what we’re doing when we don’t choose our words wisely.
Think before you speak. Consider who you’re with and what that person needs. Consider what Holy Spirit may want to bring that would encourage and build the one you’re talking to. A follower of Jesus Christ cannot be flippant with her words. Once those words have been spoken, the damage can sometimes be irreparable. Yes, repentance and forgiveness can take place but once someone’s soul has been wounded, we never know how long that healing may take.
I am not saying you can’t poke fun, make jokes, and cause one another to laugh. Laughter is good and fun. But be careful not to allow your words to cause harm toward the other person, because even in laughter someone may be hurt. And sadly, they may not tell you they are hurt. They may silently bear the pain without you ever knowing the damage caused. If someone ever approaches you to let you know that your words hurt them, receive what they are saying with humility and be willing to apologize and ask forgiveness. What hurts them may not hurt you so you may not understand their pain. It doesn’t matter whether you understand or not; you must still make things right for the sake of the other person and the relationship. Then, next time you’re speaking, you will be more careful with your words.
