Scripture Memory Meditation | Proverbs 12:18

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There is one who speaks rashly, like a piercing sword;
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Proverbs 12:18 (CSB)

It’s tempting to give off the cuff, emotional responses. This temptation is all the more alluring when those responses can be amplified in a Facebook status or a Tweet. And with the temptation and the ease to recklessly disseminate our words comes an increased capacity to destroy.

We become adept at hurting people as we gain a corrupt dexterity with the sword of language, slicing people to pieces with our swift responses and insensitive remarks. However, when we use our speech in such a damaging way, death is sure to follow. We kill curiosity, creativity, and relationships. We kill our ability to relate to people. And we kill people’s desires to relate to us. In the end, when we speak rashly, we make the world a darker, more gruesome place to live.

But our words don’t have to harm and kill. Instead, if we speak carefully, with wisdom and discernment, our words actually have the power to heal. Of course, this does not mean that we never critique or evaluate. Instead, we use our words like the scalpel of a surgeon: we carefully diagnose and respond, using our words to patch and mend, to repair what is broken, to heal what is hurt. In this way, we usher a bit of the future new creation into this life. Just as the tree of life will provide healing for the nations, so too can a wisely worded sentence bring healing to those who hear it.

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