THE WORD ON WORDS June 7, 2020

The Word today is on words—1 Corinthians 14. We read that the apostle Paul reminded the Christians in Corinth (which people, according to history were among the most learned and eloquent people during the Hellenic age) to properly manage the spiritual gifts given by GOD. They have the gift of tongues—they can speak many languages, but unless somebody interprets and explains, it would all sound gibberish and therefore useless. He reminded them to desire to prophesy, that is, to preach the Word in such a way that it builds up people’s faith, and help them be guided in proper living.

In our world today, words have been abused too much. Everybody invokes the freedom of speech, and rightly so, for that is one freedom we are all endowed with at birth. But it seems that far too many have taken undue liberties with their freedom to the point of abusing and taking advantage of others. An example would be on social media, which inherently is just a venue for communication, but on which many have tried to defraud others, maltreat and hack into other people’s accounts, slandering them electronically by creating fake accounts and bogus posts, and all in all muddling whatever good people should have gotten out of being updated and connected with friends and family.

This is probably why Confucius and the other philosophers throughout the ages amplify what our Lord has said in His Word: to not speak what is improper, to not watch what is improper, to not listen to what is improper, and not to do anything improper. For speech, along with sight and hearing, are a person’s stimuli for action. The things we say elicit a response in others. And if we say something that destroys others, we are not only doing them disservice and abuse, we are also destroying ourselves. No word, however small, when spoken or published to defame someone, is ever excusable—it is lying, it is bearing false witness, and it destroys whatever good relationship we have with people, with our Maker, and with His creations.

That is also why James, the Lord Jesus’ physical brother, said in James chapter 3 verse 5: “Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. (NIV)” The tongue is one of the main tool by which we create words out of our respiratory system and through our throats. It can indeed speak of things too marvelous and preposterous for reason, and yet it can also be used to help us comfort others, impart knowledge and wisdom and encourage them to persevere in life. It is likened to a little spark, which when kindled, can elevate to great levels and conflagrate issues, and ultimately destroy in an instant many of the things that we have so slowly and painfully built up over the ages—credibility, savings, reputation, good relationships.

If the pandemic has taught the world the universal practice of mask-wearing to reduce the likelihood of getting sick, maybe we too should learn to put a tight grip on our tongues and only speak when necessary to inform others of the truth, to build them up, to teach them reason and good sense.

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Proverbs 10:19 “When there are many words, transgression and offense are unavoidable; But he who controls his lips and keeps thoughtful silence is wise.” (AMP)

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