Death and life are in the power of the tongue. —Proverbs 18:21

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” —Matthew 12:33-36

Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” He said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.” Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, and His disciples asked Him what He meant by the parable He had just used. “Don’t you understand either?” He asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, He declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.) And then He added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” —Mark 7:14-23

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” —Jeremiah 17:9

Truth About Talk

1. Words cost.

Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. —Psalm 141:3

I said, “I will guard my ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle…” —Psalm 39:1

…let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. —Ephesians 5:33

2. Words hurt.

Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death, is the man who deceives his neighbor, and says, “I was only joking!” —Proverbs 26:18,19

3. Words last.

A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything, or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. —James 3:5

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. —Ephesians 4:29-32

Recommended Book
Love & Respect by Emerson Eggerichs

Discussion Questions
1. Which of the three truths about words is speaking to you right now? Words cost, words hurt or words last? Why?