Being Wary Of Words

Written by a human, for humans, always.

I saw a bible verse recently...

"The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." Proverbs 12:18 NIV

It is not the only verse that discusses the words we speak.

"For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword." Proverbs 5:3-4 NIV

"A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flatter mouth works ruin." Proverbs 26:28 NIV

"Those who flatter their neighbors are spreading nets for their feet." Proverbs 29:5 NIV

"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Proverbs 18:21 NIV

If you couldn't tell...

Words are a big topic in the Book of Proverbs.

But this is something that many people miss when it comes to words...

Specifically in Proverbs 18:21...

"...those who love it will eat its fruit."

But...

The fruit of the power of life...

Or the fruit of the power of death?

What the verse is saying is that it is possible to fall in love with either type of fruit.

The if fall in love with the fruit of the power of life...

It will provide wisdom and healing.

But...

If you fall in love with the fruit of death...

Recklessness, lies, deception, lust, and flattery...

You will discover pain in life.

The problem is...

When we hear the words...

Often we do not know which fruit is being spoken to us.

How often do people listen to words...

And believe that those words are what they need to hear or what is right...

Only to discover more pain in their lives caused by those speaking those words?

I see this all the time in life.

The politician who says they will make lives better, only for everyone's lives to become more miserable.

The abuser who speaks the perfect words that the abusee is hoping to hear, only to cause more harm.

The business executive who claims to care about their workforce, only to make demands that lead to burnout and threaten livelihoods when questioned.

As humans...

We have a bad tendency to listen to words that harm us...

We eat the fruit of death.

But the question becomes...

Why?

If we know logically that the fruit of death causes us harm...

Why do we become so vulnerable to it so frequently?

It is often because of the presentation of the words.

Often people's words can "drip honey" and be "smoother than oil"...

And that is sweet and smooth to the ears.

But...

The poison exists within the words...

Tasteless and odorless...

Which is why we succumb to them so easily.

On the other hand...

Words that bring healing...

Often feel painful at the beginning.

It is like resetting a bone or joint.

Before the healing can even begin, we must set things as they are supposed to be.

But...

Many people have hard heads and are stubborn...

Not wanting to hear what may be wrong in their lives...

And that becomes the problem.

When you become unwilling to listen to the truth...

You become vulnerable to lies, deceit, lust, sycophancy, and flattery...

But...

Healing cannot occur when what is broken or disjointed in our lives remains.

For as long as we continue to fall into the trap of listening to words more than seeking healing...

We will feel pain in our lives.

I recall a point in my life where I came to this realization.

There was someone whom I had considered one of my best friends...

For years...

Who always seemed to say the right thing...

But who often was not there for me.

I felt little self-worth at the time, and so I listened too deeply to the words...

And it all came to haunt me when that person stabbed me in the back.

I had wondered how they could do something so painful to me...

And it all clicked in my mind when they had told me the words...

That they loved me (as a brother).

It was in that moment that I realized how their honeyed words had made me blind to the truth...

And it was only after I ended that friendship that I began to heal.

In a world that seems to be so dark and dangerous...

I know only too well how easy it is to want to hear beautiful words that speak things we so desperately want to hear...

And...

Those are the people that we need to be most wary of...

Because they are often the ones who understand exactly how to cut us most deeply...

Frequently in our blind spots.

What you must begin to pay attention to...

Is not the words that you hear...

But the fruit that the words bear.

Does the fruit bring death and pain...

Or does the fruit bring life and healing?

Not in theory...

But in truth and reality.

Be sure to learn discernment in what you hear...

Because most of what you hear will sound sweet and beautiful...

While also being deadly to your life, providing only pain and misery.

Make sure that you seek the truth...

Do not fall victim to what you want to hear...

Start looking for the truth, even if it feels painful...

Because often...

The pain is a reverse indicator that you are on the path toward truth...

Because for healing to begin, what is broken must be reset...

And that can be very painful up front.

But...

If you move through that initial pain...

You will begin to discover that you experience true healing in your life.

Happiness.

Fulfillment.

Flourishing.

Self-Value.

Hope.

Improved life circumstances.

These are what we obtain from the tongue of the wise.

If you lack these in your life currently...

Perhaps you need to be more wary of the words you listen to...

Because it is very likely that the words you are listening to...

Are the words of death.

But...

You do not have to do that for the rest of your life.

You can find healing...

If you listen to the right words.

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