“A man has joy by the answer of his mouth; and a word fitly spoken in due season, how good is it.” 15:21
“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” 25:11 This idea came to me when I saw a sign on a church road sign that read: “Words may not break bones, but they can break hearts.” (If you do not know where this is from, it is from a saying that says, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”) We should never underestimate the effect of our words on other people. Anyone who has ever been the victim of vicious words will attest to this. There is an incident from 2 Samuel 15 that reminds us of the importance of words. Absalom, one of the sons of David, decided to replace his father as King of Israel. He sat at one of the gates of Jerusalem and criticized his father’s abilities as people who had anything against his father came through them. He did this until he became the king of Israel in his father’s place. Absalom didn’t become king because he had actually done anything that qualified him to be the king of Israel; rather, he became the king of Israel because of the words that he used in winning people to his side. It doesn’t make any difference as to whether or not words are true, once they are unleashed in a negative way they can damage reputations beyond repair. There are a lot of people who have been totally defeated by false words. They might have even been vindicated of what they were accused of, but they were still defeated. Indeed, words can break hearts and ruin reputations. This is the negative side of the issue. Thankfully, there is another side to this issue: Take the words from Proverbs 15:21: “A man has joy by the answer of his mouth; and a word fitly spoken in due season, how good is it.” Nothing can encourage a person as much as being told that he or she has done a good job. Someone once asked me if I ever tired of people telling me that they “enjoyed the sermon”? My answer was, “Heavens no! Do I want them to say “terrible sermon”? Preachers like all other humans, need words of encouragement to remind them that they are doing a good job. We need to remember this when we are talking to people. It is good to remember that, “A man has joy by the answer of his mouth.” For the most part, I want the answer of my mouth to bring joy. This is not always possible, .but it should be the predominate purpose of the answer of our mouths. We should never use words to intentionally hurt people. If we use negative words, and we sometimes have to, let it be for the good purpose of helping the person to whom we are speaking. Personally, I have been helped by words of criticism that I knew were given in love to help me do better. I particularly needed this when I was a “young preacher boy.” Proverbs 25:12 speaks to this issue: “Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear.” It is always true that, “A word fitly spoken in due season, how good is it.” It is also true that “words fitly spoken, are like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” I have to admit that I have always had a difficult time figuring out exactly what this means. (Hey, I never claimed to know everything. J) The Jeremiah Study Bible gave me some insight into this verse: “The right word spoken at the right time in the right setting can be pleasing and beautiful.” This commentary referred me to Isaiah 50:4: “The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak. A word in season to him who is weary. He awakens me morning by morning, He awakens my ear to hear as the learned.” This was a quote from “the Servant,” and is commonly referred to as a prophecy about Jesus Christ. Jesus is the epitome of the two verses that I have written about. His words were beautiful, and helpful. For example, in Matthew 11:28 Jesus said, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Beautiful words, indeed, that have been helpful to millions of people. Use words wisely and helpfully instead of being critical and mean-spirited. Bro. Joe
2 Comments
Margaret M Jones
8/16/2015 12:36:22 pm
Words are powerful. I try to be careful, but at times, still say things I regret. My goal is to encourage as I speak.
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Patty Brown
8/16/2015 03:49:29 pm
If it comes in through my head, it is going to come out through my mouth - this is why it's SO important for me to guard my mind! Thank you, Bro. Joe. You are doing a wonderful service with this web blog!
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