Matthew 12:34b;36: “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. I will tell you on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned.”
I remember the song we sang in Sunday School as a small child – “Oh be careful little tongue what you say. O be careful little tongue what you say. For the Father up above is looking down in love, Oh be careful little tongue what you say.”
Words can hurt profoundly and are hard to take back. Why is it our memories are often filled with past harsh or too loud volumes of speech in response to our disobedience to parents when we were children, or our boss? We judge from our perspective and allow our mind to ponder and relive the incident and harbor lack of forgiveness. Yes, I admit I have done this myself at times and just had a conversation about this recently with a fellow salesman I work with. But our memory may be tainted and not exactly correct in that memory of those words. Then we rationalize the blame, not on ourselves (rightly or wrongly) but the offending person. Harboring bitterness is never justified (Ephe. 4:31-32) as we are admonished to “forgive as God in Christ has forgiven you.” (See also Heb. 12:15).
In Matthew 12, Jesus had just been talking to a group of Pharisees that had accused Jesus of getting His power from casting out demons to that of Satan instead of the Holy Spirit. This was total blasphemy. Jesus calls them in v. 34 “a brood of vipers.” He knew what was in their hearts and that they once again were denying Jesus was the Messiah, and that they were evil. Matthew chronicles the rejection of Christ in chapters 11 and 12 and their total blasphemy against the Lord and the Holy Spirit. Their words condemned them. They revealed what was in their heart – wickedness. So Jesus speaks to the issue – of what was revealed about their character by their words in a public setting.
In verse 34 Jesus declared “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Sometimes speaking “off-the-cuff” or as we say “off the top of our head” gets us into trouble. Our attitude is showing and not so gloriously. Beth Moore has said: “Lord, help me not say anything stupid today and embarrass You!” The same thought is stated by David in Psalm 141:3: “Set a guard, O LORD over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!”
James 3 talks about the tongue being the hardest to bridle. James 3:2 states: “For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.” The tongue can produce lasting damage. My Grandma Helmers used to warn and quote to me from the KJV: “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.” 1 Cor. 10:12.
Solomon said, “death and life are in the power of the tongue.” That is the principle in Matthew 12: 34b-36 and throughout Scripture. May our words be full of blessings and grace and give evidence of our righteousness in Christ, as we communicate our thoughts and in our endeavors today.
Matthew 12:34b;36 from the MSG: “It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. Words are powerful.”