I’ve definitely had those moments where I said something and almost immediately wished I could pull the words back.
But once they’re out, they’re out. There are no takebacks, and Jesus gives us a pretty serious reminder about that in Matthew 12:35-37:
“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
That is a pretty sobering passage, but there’s something in it that also gives me hope. Jesus talks about what is stored up inside of us. In other words, the words coming out of my mouth can tell me something about what I’ve been putting into my heart.
If I’m constantly frustrated, negative, critical, or angry, eventually some of that is probably going to come out in the way I talk. And when I notice that happening, I don’t have to just shrug and say, “Well, I guess that’s who I am.”
I can change what I’m feeding my heart.
It makes me think about the way we change our diet when we realize we haven’t been eating very well. We start putting better things in because we know it will eventually affect how we feel and how our body works. I think the same thing can happen spiritually.
I can spend more time in God’s Word. I can pay attention to what I’m watching and listening to. I can ask God to help me fill my heart with things that are true, good, gracious, and loving. And over time, what I’m storing up inside will start showing up in the words I speak.
If I want my words to be a blessing, it may be worth asking what I’ve been feeding my heart.