What does the Bible say about the power of my words?
"Your tongue has the power of life and death. Those who love to talk will eat the fruit of their words" (Proverbs 18:21).
"You nest of poisonous snakes! How can you who are evil say anything good? Your mouths say everything that is in your hearts. A good man says good things. These come from the good that is stored up inside him. An evil man says evil things. These come from the evil that is stored up inside him" (Matthew 12:34–35).
"Let the words you speak always be full of grace. Learn how to make your words what people want to hear. Then you will know how to answer everyone" (Colossians 4:6).
The Bible tells us that our words are powerful.When we talk to our friends, we don’t just say meaningless words. Instead, our words have meaning. Every word that we say has power and the ability to change other people’s lives. We can do both good things and bad things with our words. Each time we talk to someone, we can choose whether we are going to build them up or tear them down (Proverbs 12:6). As followers of Jesus, we need to always build others up with our words, not tear them down.
Think about your own words. Are they full of kindness? Or are they full of hate? Some kids in your class might be popular because they bully others with their words, but you must not do this. Hurting people with our words is wrong. It could cause someone to cry or think badly of themselves. In everything, we need to treat others the way we want to be treated (Luke 6:31).
The Bible tells us to not allow any unwholesome words to exit our mouths (Ephesians 4:29). Unwholesome words are words that are mean, rude, hurtful, or cruel. Before you speak, think carefully. Don’t say anything that could hurt someone else. If you wouldn’t want someone to say something mean to you, don’t say it to others. Instead, choose to be encouraging and build others up.
