Spend Your Words Wisely
I am have been exploring what it looks like to wait in silence before the Lord. Last time I suggested it has a great deal to do with being slow to speak and quick to listen. But certainly there are times that we need to open our mouths and speak . . . both to God and to others. Words certainly are necessary, Paul tells the Corinthians that he imparts spiritual truth with spiritual words (1 Cor. 2:13). James doesn’t say to NOT speak, he says that we should be SLOW to speak. (James 1:19) If we go back to the advice from Psalm 62, we see that David says that his enemies take pleasure in falsehood. (Psalm 62:4) So if I want to be more like David, and less like his enemies, then I should work really hard to take pleasure in what is TRUE. And in order for that to be a reality in my life, every word that comes out of my mouth needs to be guarded. This is what James is getting at when he commands us to be slow to speak . . . in other words, think about what you will say, choose your words carefully, contemplate your motives, error on the side of saying nothing at all if there is any doubt, etc. We are often reminded in life that we need to make the most of our time and our money. I would add words to that list, and encourage all of us to be good stewards of what comes out of our mouths each and every day.