THE POWER OF WORDS

As children in Sunday School we sang, “Oh, be careful little tongue what you say!” Our words, both good and bad, have a tremendous effect on others.

The goal of the church is to evangelize those outside the church (Acts 1:8, Matt. 28:19, 10) and to edify one another (Eph. 4:11-16.) The extent to which effective evangelism is taking place will depend largely upon the degree that real, loving edification is happening.

Basic hindrances to this two-fold goal are:

• Lack of credibility with unbelievers. The lives of some Christian reflect little difference from the lives of non-Christians (II Peter 1:5-9).

• Lack of sensitivity to believers. A failure to embrace the principle of Phil. 2:1-4).

Our words are the area in which the breakdown is the greatest. Words are the expression of ideas, the formation of thoughts, and the units of communication. Some examples are the Living Word (John 1:1, 14, 18 and the Written Word (I Cor. 2:9-13). Our words are tangible expressions of what we are (Luke 6:40-45).

Words are an indicator of our maturity (James 3:1-12) and a basis for judgment (Matthew 12:36, 37.)

We can develop a greater sensitivity to other believers by:

• Recognizing the awesome effect our words have upon others (Prov. 18:21)

• Asking the question - will my words made God look good (Col. 3:17)?

• Thinking before we speak (James 1:19).

“Oh be careful little tongue what you say!” - an admonition for adults as well!

Love to you all, Charles Covington

We all too often speak before we think or do not listen, thinking about what we will say while someone is speaking with us. Let us be more respectful of persons and even more so to God! Listen and learn before you speak and only speak words that edify and build up.

Pastor Dale