But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matt. 12:36-3)

This little verse out of Matthew makes most of us swallow hard. We do so because we know we have said things impulsively in anger or in arrogance – sarcastic, demeaning, and cutting. We have lied or at least put a bit of “spin” on things trying to make ourselves look better in an awkward moment. At one time or another, we have all been a microcosm of the election ads and debates that have infuriated or embarrassed us the last six months.

In a world of words that fill the airways, we loose sight of their importance. The abundance of words fools us into thinking that they don’t matter or that they have no eternal consequences. Matthew’s quote from Jesus would push back against that notion.

James, the brother of Jesus said, “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (Ja.1:19-20). Obviously, ungoverned tongues are not just an issue of our day. Proverbs is full of admonitions about our words, even to the point of declaring that our tongues have the power of life and death.

Ungoverned words reveal the depths of our hearts. That is why the Lord says that by our words we will be acquitted and by our words we will be condemned. God does not look at the appearance of a man but looks at the heart. Jesus said that out of the mouth comes the abundance or overflow of the heart. What pops out in a moment of stress, frustration, pain, or even lust reveals something that is in our hearts – not everything that is there, but something that is there.

Years ago, I had said something to another person that I regretted. In my explanation, I said, “I don’t know where that came from – that just isn’t me.” Another person who was listening in on the conversation said, “Yes it is you, because your words come out of the abundance of your heart.” I was embarrassed and even a little angry at the rebuke, but I couldn’t deny it. I believe the enemy had prompted my words but only because he had found a small voice already in me that he could amplify. Ultimately, I took his rebuke to heart and dealt with the issue. Faithful are the wounds of a friend.

The constant drumbeat of the New Testament is to speak life and blessing over others – even our enemies and, yes, even those affiliated with the other political party. That allows God to continue to sit in the judgment seat rather than us. The constant commitment to speak well of others and to bless them with our words becomes transformative for us. Eventually the darkness in our hearts is pushed out by the goodness we express toward those around us. Even as believers, each of us has two natures – what Paul refers to as the spiritual man (the redeemed part of us) and the natural man (the flesh). The natural man is demanding, self-centered, arrogant, fearful, angry at times, blaming and prone to gossip. That is the part of us that Satan taps into, magnifies and reinforces. As we grow in the Lord, that part of us diminishes and shows up less and less. If that part of us shows up very often, we need to get busy growing in the Lord because that part of us is destructive.

Paul reminds us, “For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap destruction, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal.6:8). In the parable of the sower, Jesus compares the Word of God to seed that is sown, takes root, and bears fruit. Our own words are seed as well that can take root and bear fruit. If our words come from the flesh (natural man) they will bear destructive fruit. If they come from the Spirit, they will be life-giving fruit. God cares about the fruit we bear.

Words of life and affirmation reflect the heart of Jesus and create an atmosphere where unity can form and thrive. The great divisions in our country have not been healed by the rhetoric spewing out of the candidates and those who support them. In many cases, their words have taken root and produced the fruit of even greater division and bitterness. The same can happen in our own relationships because of words we speak. Slander and accusation is the language of hell not of heaven and Satan can take the seeds of destruction we have carelessly sown with our words and water them so that they bear a great deal of negative fruit.

We need a nation and a church that turns to speaking life instead of curses over one another. God will eventually honor our choices and if we choose to sow to the flesh with our words, then God will eventually allow us to harvest the fruit of destruction. If, however, we choose to become people who speak blessings…even over our enemies, God will bless us and give us the life and peace that we crave.

I know that many of us have spoken hurtful and even sinful words so long that they have become automatic. They are such a part of us that we aren’t even aware when we speak them. When I say sinful words I don’t mean “cuss words” as much as critical words, gossip, and slander that we fall into at the office or even over lunch with a friend or spouse. Biblically, gossip is listed right there with murder and adultery and yet we often participate in it without thought because it is so natural – from the natural man. A wise person will begin to ask the Spirit and good friends to alert them to those moments when he or she is speaking anything other that words seasoned with grace and life over any person or situation. Once we are made aware of our automatic patterns, we can repent and let the Spirit of God begin to change us.

Our God is a God of words who spoke the entire universe into existence. We are made in his image and that suggests that our own words have power for good or evil. Our words can be a curse or a blessing. God tells us to be a blessing. Paul challenges us when he says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Eph.4:29).

Today is Election Day after one of the most divisive and demeaning campaigns in history. There will be ample opportunity to sow to the flesh today and to speak evil of all kinds of folks. But Jesus says that we will have to give account for those words. So today, let’s be the exception and speak life and blessing even over those who would curse us. Let’s sow to the Spirit and not to the flesh today and be instruments of healing rather than those who keep inflicting new wounds. Be blessed today and may we all, myself included, speak the language of heaven at every opportunity.