“The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”
A person running for political office was speaking this past weekend and made a joke about his local university’s football program. He jokingly commented that he wondered if they would ever win another game without cheating. Being a college football fan and living in a college town, I don’t know how that could have been a joke, but apparently, it was supposed to be, and there were a few chuckles. Speculation now is that he may have given away his election, which was already expected to be close, because of that foolish, spur-of-the-moment joke. I would say that when Solomon talks about the words of the reckless, this would apply. There are many, many times in politics and the media when we see reckless words. But I think the words the Holy Spirit is most concerned about, as well as those Solomon addresses in his teaching, are the words Jesus’ followers utter without considering the impact they will have on another person’s soul. My mother used to say, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” I really believe that is a good rule to live by. Obviously, there are times when correction is necessary. Scripture calls it training in righteousness, and that may require words that make someone uncomfortable. However, there can never be too many kind words shared in our culture today. As Solomon reflects in this verse, kind words come from the wise and bring healing. They make the soul joyful. They bring comfort. They even provide useful and pleasant instruction. I would propose that the way we live out Jesus’ greatest commandments can be summed up in these four words: Love Jesus and be kind. Today, let’s practice those. #BeTheEdge #LoveJesusBeKind
“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.” Ephesians 4:29 NIV
