God desires for our speech to honor Him.

Our words are more meaningful than we realize. Or if we do realize that, then our words are more consequential than we realize. Our words matter. Our speech matters. How we talk matters. And the way that we most clearly come to know this reality is that God tells us that it matters to Him. I want us to consider this very often overlooked but weighty truth – God desires for our speech to honor Him. Let us consider this statement from these three different angles – What We Say; What We Do Not Say; and How We Say What We Say:

1) What We Say

The actual words that do come off of our tongues and proceed from our mouths are important. We must speak. And when we do speak, the words we are actually saying should have value and purpose and meaning with them. There is so much that can be said about the purpose of the words we speak. We cannot cover it all here. But here are a few thoughts.

Our words can instruct. Our words can clarify. Our words can build up. Our words can communicate. Plainly stated, our words are so very useful. That is an understatement I know.  Where would be without our ability to talk? Understanding the real usefulness, value, and purpose to our speech is found in God’s instruction to us about our speech.

In Psalm 19:14 David, the psalmist, says “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord.” And in the New Testament, Jesus says (Matthew 15:18) “what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart.” And in another place (James 3:10) we hear, “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” What we say matters, and it matters because God desires that our speech is to honor Him.

2) What We Do Not Say

Not only does what we say matter, but what we do not say matters too. We should be more hesitant to speak in certain ways. Lies and complaints and grumblings and boasts and gossip and slander and profanity should all be avoided.  We should be mindful of God’s desire for our speech to honor him, and therefore we should be more readily “quick to hear and slow to speak” (James 1:19).

Proverbs 30:32 says “If you have been foolish, exalting yourself, or if you have been devising evil, put your hand on your mouth.” In some cases, it is better and wiser to not speak. We need to learn that. We all need to grow in the area of What We Do Not Say. Ephesians 4:29 says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen“. If it is not good for the occasion, then we must learn to not say it.

If God can be honored in what we say, then God can also be honored in us not saying things that dishonor Him. Learning this truth is a recognizable sign of growth and maturity.

3) How We Say What We Say

Finally, not only is what we say and what we do not say important, but also how we say what we say is important too. Learning this is also an attractive sign of growth and maturity. It is possible to say a good thing in a bad way. And it is possible to say a bad thing in a good way.

Colossians 4:6 says “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” And in Matthew 24:4 Jesus warns for us to not be deceived which means that our speech can be deceptive. There is a God-honoring way to say the things that we say. And there is a way to dishonor God with the truthful things that we say. May we be concerned to understand this reality.

God desires for our speech to honor Him, and we are able to honor Him with ‘What We Say,’ ‘What We Do Not Say,’ and with “How We Say What We Say.” As Ecclesiastes 3:7 says there is “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.” May we be more responsible with our speech! And may our speech honor God.