By Will Cochran

We interact with people every day. We have conversations, give our opinions, listen to others’ views, and communicate with people in many other ways. Verbal communication on our part requires an intentional decision. 

If a friend tells me something that I disagree with, I have to decide how I will react and give feedback—the same thing when someone gives me an opinion or feedback on something that I have said or done. 

The words we use when I talk to someone leave an impact. I have to decide what kind of impact I want to make. 

• Good or bad. 
• I can choose to use words of life 
• I can choose to use words of death

You may think that it’s only words, but our words have weight. Everything that comes out of our mouths has an impact.

Proverbs 18:21 CEVDCI Words can bring death or life!  Talk too much, and you will eat everything you say.

WOW!!! Talk about a gut check. 

Knowing that my words have a lasting impact, makes me think about everything I say before it comes out of my mouth. EVERYTHING!!!! 

We tend to react to things:

• Comments
• Opinions
• Plans
• Thought

You get the point. 

Let’s remember that a reaction is usually that, a reaction – unplanned and not thought out. That can get messy and ugly very quickly.  

Let’s talk a bit about what “words of life” and “words of death” are.  

Words of life are lifegiving, encouraging, loving — Words of life are infused with love and grace.

WORDS OF LIFE

Words of life can change a person’s perspective and attitude towards the day.  

Words of life can encourage a friend who is struggling or 

Words of life can encourage a spouse who is having a hard time at work. Words of life are forgiving and comforting your child and showing grace after they have apologized profusely for spilling a cup on your computer (which happened last night).  

Words of life can be as little as three words granting forgiveness.  

Words of life are where we find Jesus and when we find Jesus, we find love and grace.  

WORDS OF DEATH

Words of death are precisely that. These words produce death.

Words of death will kill what we find in Jesus: love, grace, and encouragement.  

Words of death are void of Jesus. They are often spoken out of anger, hurt, and unforgiveness. 

Words of death come spilling out when I snap back at someone; instead of offering grace and forgiveness. 

Words of death do not necessarily have to be heard to leave an impact. When I get hostile with someone who has cut me off in traffic or at the Hardee’s drive-thru, whatever I say in anger and frustration in the isolation of my vehicle is still validated by Satan. 

The enemy fuels words of death. 

This happened a few years ago as I was pulling into Hardee’s drive-thru in the little town in North Carolina where I live. As I was pulling around, a lady cut me off to get in front of me. I said some less than encouraging words that I knew she didn’t hear, but I heard them, God heard them, and the devil was giddy because he heard them!

While I was in line, I was fuming and had what I could assume was a foul look on my face, just in case she happened to glance in her mirror at me. What I voiced into the atmosphere caused more anger and a lack of grace. 

Here is the kicker, as I pulled up to pay for my breakfast, the cashier at the window said, “the lady in front of you paid for YOUR breakfast.” 

The words I spewed out should have immediately affected me as they came out of my mouth. There should have been a Holy conviction. Sadly, that conviction from God did not come until after I got my food and found out she paid for did the conviction hit me. Yup, there it was, and it made me ashamed of my words and actions. Wow. I had just reacted with words of death. 

As I reflected on my actions, this passage of scripture ran through my head. 

“You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good?  For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”  Matthew 12:34 NIV

OOPH!!! I hear you loud and clear, LORD!!!!  

Words of life and words of death can be spoken over you by YOU. 

Let me explain.

How often have you said, “good job” or “you’re awesome” to yourself?  

On the flip side of that, how many times have you called yourself an “idiot,” a “failure,” or professed to yourself you are “worthless?” 

These are all things we have said to ourselves at some time or another. I have never really understood why we tend to be harder on ourselves than we are on others (that is a whole other devotional topic for the future). 

One last thing I want to talk about is how words of life can be tough to hear. Words of life, even when spoken full of love, can be tough to hear. People who love us enough to tell us things we don’t want to hear are real friends. These words may hurt at the moment, but they give us life.  

As iron sharpens iron, 

So one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 NIV

When iron is sharpening iron, there is always friction, noise, heat, and sparks. It’s not a pretty, delicate, or pleasant process, but it is necessary. 

How many of you have picked up a knife out of your kitchen drawer to cut a tomato and just ended up with “ketchup”? Then you realized that the blade of the knife hadn’t been sharpened, and it could not do the job it was meant to do because, over time, it had dulled. You cannot use it because you did not sharpen it as it dulled.

The same goes for us. We need words of life to sharpen us to cut through everything that the enemy throws at us and make kingdom impacts everywhere we go.  

As I come to a close, I want to reanalyze Matthew 12:34 for a second. Jesus said that what’s in our hearts comes out. Gut check again. WOW. 

What comes out of you is what you feed yourself. If you want words of life to come out of you, you have to fill yourself up with words of life. When you find words of life, you see Jesus. 

• Fill yourself with Jesus. 
• Draw closer to him. 
• Seek him. 
• Call out his name.  

John 14:6 CSB “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” 

Nowhere in that passage is the word death.  It’s life.  In fact we gained eternal life with His death and resurrection.  With Jesus you find life.  

So how will you use your words?  Will you use words of life?  Will those words used to bring encourage and be uplifting and used to pour into people and show the life and love of Jesus?  

Will you react or will you be intentional and aware of what comes out?

Settle your hearts to pray

PRAY THIS WITH ME TODAY (in your own words)

Father, I thank You for this day. I thank You for everything that You have done for us. Father, You are life, You are love, and You are grace. 

As we go through the days that You have given us, I pray that we can hear through Your ears, see through Your eyes, and speak through Your mouth. 

Let our first reaction be to turn to You. Let us speak words of life wherever we are and to everyone we are around. 

Father, this life you have given us is Yours, and we are giving it back to You. Please help us be obedient and honoring. It’s for You that we pray for these things. 

In Jesus’ name, we pray. 

Amen. 

 

Will is a guitarist/songwriter. Will is a talented musician.

“Music is my passion. Some people would call it a hobby but it goes much further than that. When I wake up in the morning there is a song in my head before my feet even hit the floor. Its automatic. I love music.”

~ Will Cochran