BEWARE OF IDLE WORDS!
TEXT:
"But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12 verses 36 to 37, King James Version).
Many do not realize that their lives go in the direction of their spoken words. Take it or leave it, you are ruled by your words. Proverbs 6 verse 2 confirms that you are snared with the words of your mouth, you are taken (captive) with the words of your mouth. Understand that nothing in your walk as a believer is more important than the words of your confession.
We should therefore take precaution as to what we utter from our lips because the Bible says that "A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." (Proverbs 18 verses 20 to 21).
The matter of what we utter from our lips is an area in which many Christians are caught off guard; yet, in the Scripture reading for today, the Lord Jesus gave us some of His most solemn warnings saying,
"But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment."
(Matthew 12 verse 36).
What are idle words? Simply put, they are words that we often utter thoughtlessly; words that do not express our real thoughts or intentions. The danger of uttering idle words is that they can serve to open the door to demons or evil spirits to control our lives. For instance, in a fit of anger or annoyance a person may say, "I'm sick and tired" of whatever it may be. Though he does not mean it literally, but by such utterance, he may be opening the door to a demon of sickness or tiredness. Soon, he becomes sick and tired and cannot explain how it came to be.
Later, when we are called in question concerning such words, we often excuse ourselves by saying, "I didn't really mean it," or, "I was only joking," as though this releases us from responsibility. Yet it is precisely such idle words that the Lord Jesus warns us against. According to Him, "for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment."
The fact that men are habitually guilty of speaking idle words does not make it less serious. As every idle word spoken is reserved for the day of judgment, we ought to take heed unto ourselves and ask for forgiveness for the idle words that we might have spoken in the past. In fact, anyone who considers this warning of the Lord Jesus to be unimportant needs to repent and pray Psalms 141 verse 3).
PRAYER:
Lord, forgive me for every idle word that I have uttered in the past. In line with Psalms 141 verse 3 therefore,
"Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips." that I will not speak idle words, in Jesus name .