The Master's Table - Christian devotional from God's Word

What Are Your Words Worth?
Weekly devotional by Barbara Sanders

Psalms 33:6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
Matthew 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

Sometimes we speak without realizing that our words will have an impact on someone. It's 'conversation as usual', and words are spoken that are hollow; that is, we are just talking, maybe only to impress someone. But, in our attempt to impress, perhaps our words are taken, not as we meant them, but as an offense.

Words can really have an impact on some. Today, I was listening to a talk show host on the radio, while driving my car. He began to talk about this guy being sentenced to prison for five years. Seems the man had been driving, while talking on his cell phone. He had a wreck, while sending out _TEXT_ (words) through the cell phone, for which the judge imprisoned him. I am sure this man would love to back track and 'take back' those words 'written in haste'. He is paying a high price for the 'use of words'.

God's word spoke in to existence the heavens and earth. Those were very powerful words! Our words may not build heavens or another earth, but they do have a powerful effect. So, we need to be cautious of how we speak, when we speak, and, most definitely, _what_ we speak. We need to speak as though our mouth was the mouth piece for God. We are the vessel that houses the Holy Spirit, and we need to consider our words very carefully. We need not speak idle words, for which we will give an account. If we are careful to speak the Word of God, then we are speaking words of encouragement, peace, and love, not words that will divide or tear down. The WORD of God is worth much more than the empty words than humans sometimes are known to speak in haste.

Heavenly Father, teach us to speak wisely, and speak only those words that will build, not tear down, encourage and not discourage. Help us speak words people need to hear; words of Your Truth! In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.