Do Our Words Really Have Power — Meaning Explained

Proverbs 18:21 declares, 'Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.' James devotes an entire chapter to the tongue's power: 'The tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!' (James 3:5). The tongue can bless or curse (3:9-10), heal or wound: 'The tongue of the wise is health' (Proverbs 12:18). Words can build up: 'A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver' (Proverbs 25:11). Or tear down: 'The words of a talebearer are as wounds' (Proverbs 18:8). Jesus warned that words reveal the heart: 'Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh' (Matthew 12:34). He also stated, 'By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned' (Matthew 12:37). Paul commands, 'Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying' (Ephesians 4:29). Controlling the tongue is a mark of spiritual maturity (James 3:2).