Daily devotional, March 11, 2024 Life-giving

"But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers,these things ought not to be so." James 3:8-10

One of the most important lessons my father has ever taught me is the power of words. He has always impressed on me since I was a young girl, that words are very powerful and that it can hurt people so much. That I should always think before I say anything, because once I have said something, and those words offended someone, I could never take the words and the pain back.

Life-giving words are written throughout the Bible. As followers of Jesus, we are being encouraged to continue to meditate on God’s word, and at the same time live lives that propagate it. In his letter to the Ephesian Church, St. Paul the Apostle said that by saying what’s positive, pure, and true, we can live lives that honor God, and build up others.

"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

But as we all know and experience, it is not easy to always say life-giving words. When we are angry and we feel that we have been wronged, we can easily say truthful yet scathing words in anger. When we are too exhausted, we lose patience as well as the ability to choose gentler words to get our children, or others to do what we want them to do. We could even go as far as spread gossip and rumors about others. But as the disciple James, the brother of Jesus tells us, it really is difficult to tame the tongue.

"If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things." 
James 3:3-5

We should indeed be careful because in our world today, a lot of people are suffering from mental issues that sometimes discouraging words can do irreparable damage to their lives. We should be careful when we point out other people’s mistakes. At the same time, we have to be cautious about what to say to others when they ask for our advice. As St. Paul the Apostle tells us:

"And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone." 
1 Thessalonians 5:14

Let us take the cue from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who only had to speak powerful words to the Roman Official, and his dying son was healed. In the Gospel of John, when Jesus returned to Cana, there was a Roman Official who begged Him to come to his house so that He could heal His Son. But Jesus did not go over to his place, and instead healed the official’s son just by uttering four powerful words:

"Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. As he was going down, his servantsmet him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hourthe fever left him.” The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household." 
John 4:50-53

We may feel like we can never be consistent in saying life-giving words given our everyday circumstances. But with our consistent fellowship with Jesus through prayer and bible reading, and our heart’s deep longing to follow His teachings, we can get help from the Holy Spirit to speak words that could never hurt, words that give encouragement and life. Let us always remember that with God’s help through the Holy Spirit, we can train ourselves to just say words that are helpful to those who hear.

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." 
John 14:26

Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on John 4:43-54 and James 3:2-11 to dig deeper on today’s topic.

Reflection Question: Do you struggle with consistently being gentle and encouraging in words? How can Jesus help you with this every day?

Conversation with the Lord: Lord Jesus Christ, thank you that you have given us the Holy Spirit who could help us be gentle and encouraging to others in both words and deeds. Help me become consistent on this so that I could spread your love to my family and to everyone around me. Amen.