And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:17 HCSB
At our Monday night Bible study, our teacher said something that really stuck with me, “God chose His words very carefully.” We know that every word in the Bible was inspired by God. We are told in 2 Timothy 3:16 that all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. We are told in Romans 15:4 that whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. Matthew 24:35 tells us that heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s words will not pass away. Isaiah 55:11 tells us that God’s word will not return to Him empty but will accomplish what He intends for it to accomplish. In Psalm 119:105 David describes God’s word as a lamp to his feet and a light to his path. These are just a few of many Scriptures that speak of God’s word.
God’s word is what trains us as Christians. It’s what teaches us what God expects from us. It teaches us how we should live and how we should pray and how we should study it and how we should imitate God. We learn more and more about God through the study of His word. If we fail to study His word, we fail to get to know Him and have an intimate relationship with Him. To know Him is to love Him. If we don’t ever really get to know Him, we won’t ever appreciate Him and love Him as we should.
Through reading God’s word, we learn how to speak. We learn to pray for wisdom (James 1:5). We learn to obey Him. We are told in Ephesians 4:29 that we should let no corrupting talk come out of our mouths, but only that which is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Colossians 3:8 tells us to put away all anger, wrath, malice, slander and obscene talk from our mouths. Proverbs 18:21 tells us that death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat its fruits. The scariest verse to me is Matthew 12:36 which tells us that on judgment day people will have to account for every careless word they have spoken. We need to follow God’s example and choose our words very carefully.
You’ve probably heard it said that God gave us two eyes and two ears and one mouth for a reason. We should carefully observe before we open our mouths to speak. We should be careful of the words we say. Words can do a lot of damage. They can lift up and they can tear down. Ephesians 5:3-5 warns us not to let there be any filthiness, foolish talk or crude joking coming out of our mouths for that is out of place, but that we should be offering thanksgiving.
God carefully chose the words he presented to us. His Holy Word is his love letter to us. God loves us with all His heart. He loves us so much that He sent His one and only Son to die for us miserable sinners so we may have the opportunity to accept salvation. He wants us to love Him with all our heart, our soul and our mind. He wants us to put Him first and He wants our words to show that we put Him first in our lives.
I spent many years of my life speaking to impress other people. I would put down on others to make myself look good, but I realized that it had the opposite effect. I would joke at other’s expense not caring if it just poured salt in their wounds. I spent many years not choosing my words carefully. I thank God that He chose His words carefully so that even someone as simple as me can understand them. I thank God that He provides us with a pastor that preaches the truth to us through God’s word. I thank God that He provides teachers like the one who leads our Bible study that professes the truth through God’s word.
God chose His words carefully and He wants us to do the same. Our pastor often says we may be the only Bible others will ever read. I encourage you to think about that before you speak.
Have a great day!