Avoid idle word
But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. Matthew 12:36
The verse of today is scary, literally scary when I read it for the first time, and some people feel the same way too. Everyone speaks idle words from time to time. Cantonese people, especially, deserve extra grace due to the fact that we often use words like "death" (like I die laughing) and "ghost" as adverbs in our habitual conversation.
The tongue is the most uncontrollable part of our body. According to James 3:2, if we controlled our tongues, we would be perfect.” No one is perfect and as we learn the "truth" that we must answer for every idle word on judgement day, I am greatly grateful for His grace: "Their sins and their lawless deeds, I will remember no more." Hebrew 8:12.
Despite the fact that mercy triumphs over judgment, we must beware of idle talk. “Idle” in Greek means inactive and not working, it means careless and thoughtful, and the Bible tells us to guard our tongue as it is the flame of fire. Because idle words could kill people, just like gossip and slander. The enemy will use our tongue as an agent of destruction to destroy people and relationships.
Some idle talk may even open the doors to demons. In my ministry, I have witnessed people overusing idle words such as, "I'm unhappy" or "I want to die". By using such words, we may invite the spirit of death and depression, so we must renounce those idle words and stop agreeing with them.
Out of the abundance of the heart, the tongue speaks, so we need to guard our hearts to minimize idle talk. As we fill our hearts with God's words, the fruitful words will overflow out of our mouth naturally, and the Holy Spirit will prompt us to speak them effortlessly.
The bible also instructs us to "slow to speak" and to "let our words be few" , just like Jesus speaks, He is so concise and to the point, no word is wasted. Finally, a pastor once shared this quote: "Before you speak, ask yourself: Is it kind, is it necessary, is it true, does it improve on silence?" This helps us to think before speaking rather than uttering idle words.
Blessing prayer: Keep our tongues from sin and fill our hearts with Your word so we speak with grace and fruitfulness. In Jesus’ name, Amen
