#Words Matter

IT IS CLEAR #WordsMatter

It is a fact that some Scriptures that we read for years can suddenly change how they sit in our minds, and James 3 is one of those passages for me. I know for a fact that this passage was used in conversations about swearing for a long time, it was as though James was simply concerned with whether Christians used bad language.

The older I get, however, and the more I sit with people's stories, the more I realise James is dealing with something much deeper than vocabulary.

James writes: The tongue is both a tool for praise and a weapon of destruction, used both to bless God and to curse human beings, who have been made in God's image. James 3:9 is very is clear as he bases his argument on theology, he does not just tell people to speak better, he reminds us of the truth about human beings.

PEOPLE ARE MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD #WordsMatter

Genesis 1:27 tells us that God created humans in His own image, which is amazing and changes the way I read this passage.

Over the years, I have come to realise that the way we see people, will eventually shape the way we speak to them. If I only see someone as an inconvenience, a problem, an opponent, or somebody who has hurt me, my words will often reflect that.

James takes us back to something deeper, that the person standing in front of me bears the image of God. Whether I am speaking to a child, someone carrying trauma, the person serving me in a shop, or even someone with whom I need strong boundaries, I am still speaking to someone created by God and carrying inherent dignity.

Recognising that dignity does not remove the need for truth, as Jesus Himself confronted sin, challenged hypocrisy, and addressed injustice. Some conversations are difficult, and some relationships require boundaries. Yet throughout the Gospels, Jesus never seemed to delight in humiliating people.

What we see is grace and truth walked together in His ministry, and I think that is something many of us are still learning.

In a world that often celebrates "banter", sarcasm, rewards harshness, and mistakes cruelty for honesty, Jesus shows us there is another way. He demonstrates that truth does not have to strip people of dignity, and correction does not have to become humiliation. That matters because words are never neutral.

Proverbs tells us: "The tongue has the power of life and death." Proverbs 18:21

OUT OF THE MOUTHS #WordsMatter

Over the years, through social work, children's services, recovery work, supported housing, mental health, and pastoral ministry, I have become increasingly aware that people carry words. Not in a dramatic way, but in a very human way, people remember how they were spoken to and children remember things that were spoken over them and said to them.

People carrying trauma remember and those who have experienced shame remember. Sometimes, a sentence spoken in frustration is forgotten by the person who said it while the person receiving it carries it for years.

Likewise, encouragement can stay with someone for a lifetime; A teacher who believed in them, a parent who expressed love, a pastor who spoke hope, or a friend who offered kindness at the right moment can become part of the story people tell themselves.

Words are never as small as we think they are, Jesus also says: "For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." Luke 6:45

I think this is where James moves beyond behaviour and begins dealing with the heart, as many of us may have noticed that is it possible;

1. It is possible to clean up our language and still carry bitterness.

2. It is possible to know Scripture and still speak carelessly.

3. It is possible to worship God and yet use our words to shame,

   criticise, compare, gossip, or make another person feel small.

That contradiction should cause us to pause, not because God is demanding perfection, but because worship is meant to form us. Over the years, I have become less interested in whether I have chosen the perfect words and more interested in the spirit behind them.

Reflective questions we can ask ourselves:

• What do my words reveal about what is happening in my heart?

• Do I speak about people as though they bear the image of God?

• Where have I confused honesty with harshness?

• Are there places where I need to speak truth, but with more grace and wisdom?

• Have I used my words to build people up, or have I used them to shame, compare, criticise, or tear down?

• Are there words spoken over me that I am still carrying?

• Are there words I never received that I still needed to hear?

• Where might God be inviting me to let Him heal the places underneath my speech?

• What would it look like for my words this week to bring life?

  
  

These are the questions I find myself asking and working on anything think that God reveals, as I personally wants to be more like Jesus and also be healed and whole.

One of the things I have learned through both ministry and mental health work is that people often speak from places they have not yet healed.

• Sometimes fear speaks.

• Sometimes shame speaks.

• Sometimes anger speaks.

• Sometimes old wounds speak.

  
  

And sometimes our mouths simply reveal what our hearts have been carrying for years.

Jesus was always interested in the heart, He never seemed content with outward behaviour alone. He wanted transformation from the inside out. That is why I no longer hear James 3 as a small instruction about speech, I hear an invitation to become more whole.

Worship is bigger than what comes out of our mouths on a Sunday morning, it is throughout our waking life! I have learned that worship is revealed in ordinary places, in our homes, our friendships, our churches, and in the way we speak when we are tired, disappointed, or under pressure.

This is where the deep work begins and then we have to walk it out!

Walking it out often looks much less dramatic than we imagines, sometimes it means pausing before we speak. Sometimes it means apologising when we get things wrong and sometimes it means allowing God to heal wounds that have shaped the way we communicate.

Truth and kindness are not enemies and grace and truth walked together in Jesus, and I believe they are meant to walk together in us as well.

I also think think many of us can remember words that changed us, some of us can also remember words we never heard.

The encouragement that never came.

The apology that never arrived.

The blessing that was withheld.

The affection that was assumed but never expressed.

Silence shapes people too.

As I have reflected on James 3, I have become increasingly convinced that words matter because people matter, and people matter because they bear the image of God.

PRAYER

Lord, thank You for the gift of words and for the reminder that every person we meet bears Your image.

Help us to become more aware of the way we speak, not only in moments of worship, but in the ordinary conversations of everyday life. Search our hearts and show us where our words have been shaped by frustration, fear, pride, pain, or unhealed places within us.

Forgive us for the times we have spoken carelessly, and bring healing to the places in us that have been wounded by words that were harsh, shaming, absent, or unkind.

Teach us to speak with both grace and truth. Help our words to bring life, courage, wisdom, correction, comfort, and peace. Where we have wounded others, give us humility to make things right, and where You are teaching us to live differently, give us the courage to walk it out one step at a time.

May our speech become more surrendered to You, and may the words of our mouths increasingly reflect the heart of the One we worship.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.