As children, I am sure we all have said the saying “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”. As a child I can’t say that I truly understood the meaning of that saying. I would call it out to my brother or sister when they were angry at me and yelled something like “your stupid!”. But it wasn’t true. I even felt it in my heart as I got older. The hurt that followed their words. Were they true? Do they really think that about me? Are they speaking out of anger or do they truly feel that way? Of course now I know their love for me. We as humans tend to just say silly things out of anger. But I would be hurt. More than sticks and stones would hurt, in my opinion.
God has given each and every one of us a voice. But he has also given us a free will in using those voices. He cannot choose to speak for us. That would take away that free will he promised us. The Bible states in James 3:3-8: 3 Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. 4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. 7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: 8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
We cannot tame our tongues. So when you are bitter towards someone for something that has happened and you say a hurtful, rude comment and you ask yourself “Why? Why did I just say that?” It is because we cannot tame our tongues. According to Proverbs 15:28 “The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.”
What is in our hearts will come out through our mouths. We must choose every single day to use our voices for the glory of God, speaking truth, love, joy, peace, strength, faith and every other good thing. We must pray that God would help us to do this.
Esther is a woman of God that chose to use her voice in order to do something life changing. She freed her people with her voice. If she didn’t have the courage or strength, if she didn’t pray for God to help her, if she chose to be bitter towards the king for taking her from her home in order to be his bride, if she let fear come into her, her people may not have gotten their freedom. Rather than using her voice for evil, or not using her voice at all, Esther chose to take courage and speak to the king about who she was and the freeing of her people. And she did it. Because she spoke good things, her people were made free. Her uncle was given a high position in the kings house. She was made a queen.
We have so much power in our voices. Now, Let’s bring it to our world. Look at Hitler. Because he used his voice for evil, innocent people were killed. In the end of his life, he and his wife committed suicide. Is that the ending God wishes for us? No way! Let’s look at another person, Martin Luther King Jr., because he used his voice for the good, he was able to start a life changing movement. He created strength and unity through uplifting and encouraging the world. After his death, we mourned, cried, were saddened. He now has a day in the year dedicated to him and his works that were done by using his voice. Proverbs 18:21 states “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”
Our voices hold power. With our voices we can uplift or tear down. Strengthen or weaken. Love or hate. Give or take. Keep this in mind the next time you go to speak. Ask God daily to help you to hold your tongue when you want to speak evil, and to help you to only speak life. You will find that your life will be a better one. A happier one. One that you can be proud of. One that will leave a legacy when you are gone. Live in the great power of a kind voice and leave love behind.