The Power of Your Words

The Power of Your Words July 27, 2018

I make my living speaking words, and that’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly. The Bible says life and death are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). Words have great power. My words have helped heal marriages. But there was also a day when my words wounded people like my wife, Karen.

That gives me an immense appreciation for words. Galatians 6:7-8 says, Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.Ó The Bible shows us three laws of sowing and reaping.

The first law: You reap what you sow. You can’t plant a field with tomato seeds and then harvest a crop of corn. In the same way, you can’t expect a good response when you constantly use negative words. Cuss out your spouse, threaten divorce, tell them they’re ugly those things won’t bring a positive result in your marriage.

Those are destructive words and they will bring destruction into your marriage because you reap what you sow. Words have the power of death and can tear marriages apart. You can’t just say whatever you want because what you sow will come back into your life.

The second law: You reap much more than what you have sown. Think about corn. Plant a kernel and it may grow into a stalk of corn with hundreds more kernels all of which you can plant and grow more corn. It’s exponential growth. We can feed the world with a single kernel of corn.

Likewise, your words have a disproportionate impact on your life. Like a giant ship steered by a tiny rudder, your tongue can determine the direction of your life. It can tear your marriage apart or it can evoke the blessings of heaven and build a remarkable marriage.

When you speak positive, healing words to each other when you praise your spouse rather than tearing him or her down you’ll reap an enormous, exponential impact on your marriage. Words can bring enormous change.

The third law: Planted seeds don’t sprout immediately. There’s a delayed impact after you sow a seed, and rarely does it happen overnight. While you’re waiting for your positive words to blossom into something of value, you need to have faith and perseverance.

That’s when the next verse in the passage becomes important. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart (Galatians 6:9). Every seed has its due season.

Whether raising your children to love God or speaking hopeful words into your marriage, sometimes you have to wait for a seed to bear fruit. Keep doing good and don’t grow weary!

So pay attention to your words this week. Are you speaking good words toward your spouse and into your marriage? Are you planting beneficial seeds? Or are you planting negative seeds that could cause destruction? Whatever the case, understand that your words are powerful and you’ll reap what you sow.


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