Prov 13:3 He who guards his mouth keeps his soul, But he who opens wide his lips will have destruction. Matt 12:36 And I say to you that every idle word which men shall speak, they will render an account concerning it in the day of judgment. (37) For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.
[Part 1 of 2] We are not sure whether Solomon was referring to physical life or spiritual life when he wrote this proverb [above] . But let us consider spiritual things based on this principle. A seeker of the Lord, who has life and wishes to supply the church with life, must be careful with his words. If we are not careful with our words, life will leak away. Why are some people not very useful in the hand of the Lord? They are not useful because life has leaked away. One only touches death in them; one does not touch any life in them because the life has leaked away through their words. Therefore, we have to guard our mouth, even keeping a close watch on it. Many stories testify that nothing leaks away life as much as idle words. This does not mean that sin is better than idle words. However, it does mean that next to sin the most debilitating thing for our life is our idle words. Does Matthew 12:35 say "every filthy word"? No. Does it say "every blasphemous word"? No. Does it say "every evil word"? No. It says "every idle word." Idle words are redundant words, incongruous words, unnecessary words, and gossiping words. We have to realize that not only are blasphemous words serious but loose words are also serious. It is a serious thing to speak idle words as well as filthy words. If we offend anyone through idle words, there is no way to make a recompense for this. We can confess to others, and we can retract our words, but the sound has reached others' ears, and we cannot take it back. It is possible to make a recompense if we have stolen from others. But it is impossible to make a recompense if we have offended others with idle words. This sin will have to go before the Lord. (Continued tomorrow)
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee, General Messages, Vol. 37, in The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, pp. 53-54. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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