Words As Life And Death (Proverbs 18:21)
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Proverbs 18:21
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.
Yesterday, we talked about how our words can provide for others. But today, Proverbs 18 takes it further: our words don’t just provide – they hold the power of life and death.
Let that sink in for a second. Your words have the power to heal or wound, to breathe life into someone's soul or to crush it. The fruit of our lips – whether for good or evil – has the power to either nourish or destroy.
Think of your mouth as a bow and your words as arrows. Every word you speak is like an arrow fired from your bow. And once they’re fired, you can’t take them back. That arrow can either bring healing, encouragement, and hope – or it can pierce, damage, and leave a scar.
Your words, like arrows, are powerful, permanent, and never neutral.
The challenge is, we all know we don’t always speak life. We’ve all hurt people with our words, and we’ve all been hurt by them. We also know that on our own, we can’t control this power. James reminds us of that, saying in James 3, ‘no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.’
But that’s where grace comes in. A few verses later, at the beginning of chapter 4, James encourages us by saying, ‘But God gives more grace.’ He does, and He has.
He’s given us His Spirit to transform our hearts and, with them, our mouths. Why? Because ‘out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks’ (Luke 6:45).
When Jesus has control of our hearts, our words will reflect the love and grace He shows us. When He doesn’t, our words will reflect the sickly and sinful condition of our hearts.
With that, I’ll ask you one question today:
What kind of words are you speaking to those around you?
Think through that. Reflect on your language and thus your heart. And let’s pray today for God to transform our hearts and our tongues, so that the words we speak would give life to those around us.
