Does What We Say Help or Hurt Others?

“When you talk, do not say harmful things, but say what people need—words that will help others become stronger. Then what you say will do good to those who listen to you.” - Ephesians 4:29

Do the words you say to others help or hurt them? What we say can have a long-lasting effect in a person’s life. Has there been a time in your own life when someone said hurtful things that still affect you today? Saying hurtful or unhelpful words is a common problem among people. The Bible addresses some problems we have with words that can affect our relationship with others and with God.

We really need to be careful what words we say and how we react to other people's words because the tongue is the hardest part of the body to control (James 3:8). If a person answers someone with a gentle answer, it can calm a person’s anger, but an unkind answer may cause the other person to get angry and cause more harm than good (Proverbs 15:1). That is why we need help from the Holy Spirit to tell us what to say in different circumstances.

How we speak to others can also affect our relationship with God. Matthew 12:37 says that God will judge us on judgement day what we have said to people while we were alive. If we have Jesus, then we have hope that when we make the mistake of using words to hurt people instead of encouraging them that God will forgive us instead of condemning us for what we have said.

Prayer of the day:

Dear heavenly Father,

What we say has the power to hurt or help others. Our mouth at times is a dangerous weapon that is used to put people down, to discourage, or to use Jesus’ name in vain. We need Your help to use our words in a helpful way that pleases You. We do not want to let our words hurt people but encourage them. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!