Words That Bless

James 3:3-12

Blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! (James 3:10)

THE TONGUE IS A POWERFUL THING. James spoke of it mostly in negative terms, but he mentioned its positives too—that it can bless others and praise God. In fact, as we have seen, God used words to create the world (Genesis 1), and if our Father can speak new things into being from nothing (Romans 4:17) and has made us in his image, there’s at least some sense in which we can do the same. Some people suggest that we can create our own reality with our thoughts and words, which gives us quite a bit of sovereignty over our lives that should rightfully belong to God. But even if they exaggerate this point, there is a kernel of truth in it. Our words are expressions of our faith—what we really believe deep down in our hearts—and our faith shapes our lives (Matthew 9:29).

That means we need to be really careful about what we say. More importantly, we need to be careful about what we believe, which eventually comes out in what we say. What if, for example, our words and attitudes have created the very world we criticize? What if, in our constant insistence that “things are getting worse and worse,” God has honored our faith—that negative, hopeless faith—and said, “Okay, here’s what you envisioned”? What if our words, instead of being salt and light, have had the effect of poison and darkness? Or to put it more simply, what if our words are opposed to the hope of the gospel and the joy of the Kingdom?

Many times, they are. We have all been guilty of such things. Still, God gives us a remarkable opportunity to bless others without discrimination—to pronounce blessings on our world, peace to every heart and mind, fullness of joy to every soul that longs for it. He never tells us to wait until people deserve it or to measure it out carefully. He gives abundant grace—and mouths to speak it far and wide.

{Lord, may I be liberal with your grace, forgiveness, blessing, and favor. You gave such things freely to me; may I give them freely to others. Fill my mouth with the peace, love, and joy of your Kingdom. Amen.