Words Do Hurt

Proverbs 13

The saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt” is not really true, words do hurt and so do sticks and stones. Have you ever heard this one, “I am rubber and you are glue, whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you.” Yeah, still not true. We can say something and it ruins someones day. We can be so hurtful with our words and can leave a scar forever. As this chapter has many other practical points besides holding our tongue, I would like to look at verse 3 which says, “Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips come to ruin.”

Guard Your Mouth

Psalm 141:3 says, “Set a guard O Lord , over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! We should really take a look at this passage and take it to heart. Why would whoever guards his mouth preserve his life? Is it because if we just talk we could end up in trouble with the wrong person? Is it because we waste time and energy when we talk? Solomon was speaking about just making sure you speak what is good and what is true. James 1:9 encourages us to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry.  James 3 talks about how destructive our tongues can be just like a small spark can set a whole forest on fire.

The opposite can happen too, we can make someones day by what we say. I like how David watched what he said, in Psalm 39:1 it says, “A Psalm of David. I said, “I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence.” We should watch what we say so we do not sin against God with our mouths. We sin against God with our mouths by cursing, gossip, hate, anger, deception etc. Do you watch what you say? Do you guard your mouth so that you do not sin against God? How you can do that is by asking God to help you watch what you say. Start by being conscious of what comes out of your mouth. What is it, is it good or bad? Also take your parents advice, “If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything.” So, learn to be a quiet person. President Calvin Coolidge was known as “Silent Cal” and when he was asked why he spoke so little he said, “I never have regretted anything I didn’t say.” Take that advice!

And lastly, instead of bad coming out of your mouth try filling it with praise. We should have constant praise out of our mouths. Just like Paul told the Ephesian church in Ephesians 5:19-20 which says, “Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”