Careless Words

Happy Sunday!

Numbers 14:28 says, "So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say:"(NIV).   What is God going to do?  What is He talking about here?  It may help us to go back and read the previous verses to fully understand what is happening.  Moses has sent out 12 scouts or spies to go into the Promised Land.  When they return, they report that what God said was TRUE!  The Land is flowing with milk, and honey!  It's a great land, BUT 10 of the spies give an evil report.  Their evil report created doubt and fear in the hearts of the Israelites, and they murmured and complained.  Numbers 14:2-3 say, "The Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron.  All the people came together and said to Moses and Aaron, “We should have died in Egypt or in the desert.  Did the Lord bring us to this new land to be killed in war? The enemy will kill us and take our wives and children! It would be better for us to go back to Egypt.”(Easy-to-Read Version).   WOW!  So this is what God was promising to do!  He was going to make their words come to pass.  They were going to have exactly what they said!

Matthew 12:36 says, "But I say unto you, That every IDLE WORD that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment."(KJV).  Words are vitally important!  Our words carry great weight.  Verse 37 of the same chapter says, "For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."(KJV).   OUCH!  Just in case we miss the meaning, or have any questions, another translation of these scriptures says, "Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation."(Message). 

Man was given dominion in the earth.  Genesis 2:19 says, "And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof."(KJV).  Don't miss this!  God created the creatures, but he gave Adam the authority to name them.  This scripture says, "and whatever he called them, that was their name."(Living Bible).   OK, I know what you may be thinking.  Cynthia we already know this, why is this important today?  I'm so glad you asked!  We can imagine Adam easily having dominion over a cat or a dog.  But how would Adam have dominion over a rhino or an elephant.  If an elephant decided to trample the garden, how would Adam stop him?  I'll give you a minute.  He would stop them with his WORDS!  Of course, Adam was the perfect human specimen, but even if he was as tall as Andre the Giant, or as strong as Hercules...he would need help.  The Apostle James echoed this sentiment in James 3:7-9, "Men have trained, or can train, every kind of animal or bird that lives and every kind of reptile and fish, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is always ready to pour out its deadly poison.  Sometimes it praises our heavenly Father, and sometimes it breaks out into curses against men who are made like God."(Living Bible).  

Don't be tricked by the enemy!  Don't take this lightly!  The enemy wants you to think your words are unimportant, and ineffective.  But every word we speak is creative: either creating good things or creating evil things.  If you wake up tomorrow and declare that it's going to be a bad day, trust me...for YOU it will be a bad day.  But even if bad things are happening all around you, there is still the possibility for you to have a great day!  Our parents used to tell us, "If you can't say anything good, don't say anything at all!"  We would do well to say as the psalmist, "Help me, Lord, to keep my mouth shut and my lips sealed."(Psalm 141:3, Living Bible).  

Watching my words!  Love and prayers, Cynthia