All Words Matter #AllWordsMatter

There is a national conversation about words, their value and importance. There is a phrase that has arisen in this conversation. Those who want to downplay the impact of evil words are saying that words are "Just words". Some are suggesting that actions are more important than "just words". But the "just words" premise is terribly flawed, and even dangerous.

Most people have no idea how powerful words are. Let me just break it down like this.

Words brought light into existence.
Words bring darkness.
Words create relationships.
Words destroy relationships.
Words have caused eyes to receive sight.
Words have taken sight away from healthy eyes.
Words bring salvation.
Words bring damnation.
Words brought fire out of heaven.
Words brought water out of a rock.
Words have brought the dead to life.
Words have brought the living to death.
Words deliver the Gospel.
Words undermine the Gospel.
Words express love.
Words express hatred.
The Bible contains the words of God.
Jesus is the Word of God.
Victory is found in words.
Defeat is found in words.
Words reveal the true heart of a person.
Words determine the direction of a person.
Words will send people to eternal damnation.
Words will send people into eternal life.

There is no such thing as "just words". Our words are as important as our actions. Words are living. In part, it is our ability to think and express through words that shows we were created in the image of God and are not just another animal.

The Bible is full of words that tell us that words are not "just words".

Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. - Proverbs 18:21 #AllWordsMatter

Whoever speaks the truth declares what is right, but a false witness, deceit.
There is one who speaks rashly, like a piercing sword; but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue, only a moment. - Proverbs 12:17-19 #AllWordsMatter

Pleasant words are a honeycomb: sweet to the taste and health to the body. - Proverbs 16:24 #AllWordsMatter

A gentle answer turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath.
The tongue of the wise makes knowledge attractive, but the mouth of fools blurts out foolishness.
The tongue that heals is a tree of life, but a devious tongue breaks the spirit. - Proverbs 15:1-2,4 #AllWordsMatter

The one who guards his mouth and tongue keeps himself out of trouble. - Proverbs 21:23 #AllWordsMatter

Do you see a man who speaks too soon?
There is more hope for a fool than for him. - Proverbs 29:20 #AllWordsMatter

The intelligent person restrains his words, and one who keeps a cool head is a man of understanding.
Even a fool is considered wise when he keeps silent, discerning when he seals his lips. - Proverbs 17:27-28 #AllWordsMatter

A wicked person listens to malicious talk; a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue. - Proverbs 17:4 #AllWordsMatter

Lord, set up a guard for my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips. - Psalm 141:3 #AllWordsMatter

Now when we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we also guide the whole animal. And consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how large a forest a small fire ignites. And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is set on fire by hell.
Every sea creature, reptile, bird, or animal is tamed and has been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. We praise our Lord and Father with it, and we curse men who are made in God’s likeness with it. Praising and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers, these things should not be this way. Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening? Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water. - James 3:3-12 #AllWordsMatter

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The Word became flesh and took up residence among us.
We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:1,14 #AllWordsMatter

No foul language is to come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear. - Ephesians 4:29 #AllWordsMatter

Therefore, put to death what belongs to your worldly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, God’s wrath comes on the disobedient, and you once walked in these things when you were living in them. But now you must also put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator. - Colossians 3:5-10 #AllWordsMatter

I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against[i] the Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come. - Matthew 12:31-32 #AllWordsMatter

It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man. Don’t you realize that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated? But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a man. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies. These are the things that defile a man - Matthew 15:11, 17-20 #AllWordsMatter

A man speaks from the overflow of the heart. - Luke 6:45 #AllWordsMatter

Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. A good man produces good things from his storeroom of good, and an evil man produces evil things from his storeroom of evil. I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to account for every careless word they speak. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. - Matthew 12:34-37 #AllWordsMatter

Does it sound like words are "just words"? Does it sound like words are inconsequential? Does it sound like words are less important than actions? Would Jesus ever say that words are "just words"? 

When you see someone devalue words, you know how much their word is worth. If someone dismisses or diminishes the importance of words by saying that vulgarity is "just words", their word is worth nothing. You can't trust the word of someone who calls words "just words", because by their own testimony, their words are "just words".

Try to tell a quality author that words are "just words". Try to tell an artist or song-writer that words are "just words". Try to tell an abused wife that words are "Just words". Try to tell an abandoned husband that words are "just words". Try to tell a betrayed business partner that words are "just words". Try to tell a bullied child that words are "just words". Try to tell a holy God that words are "just words".

No man worth his salt would sit by and let someone curse his mother or sister. No husband worth his vows would listen to a man verbally accost his wife and then turn to her and say, "Babe... those are just words." No father worth his seed would casually let someone verbally undress his daughter then look at her and say, "Don't let it bother you... those are just words."

One day God will tell the wicked to "Depart". He will tell the righteous to "Enter into My presence." If you think those are "just words" then perhaps you wouldn't care which words are spoken to you? But you do... because #AllWordsMatter

Today, live as if your words matter... because they do. You will bring life and health through your words, or you will bring death and wickedness. When you know that every word that comes out of your mouth, you sense great power, and I hope you realize that you never speak "just words".

Your words matter. All of your words matter. Your words matter when you are angry, when you are loving, when you are joking, when you are sad, when you are debating, when you are hurt, when you are telling a story, when you are describing someone.

And for what it's worth, the word 'just' can equate to righteous. So while you should never speak 'just words', you should always speak 'just' words.

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