Our words have tremendous power. God used words to create the universe; He spoke the world into existence by them. 

Proverbs 18:21 (NIV)

“The tongue has the power of life and death…”

What a terrifying and amazing tool we have right in our mouths! Our tongues have the power of life and death. Nothing else in Scripture (apart from God Himself) has this kind of authority: not money, our thoughts, or even our actions. So we need to be very, very careful about the words we say. 

With our words, we can elevate others’ faith or annihilate it. Our words have creative and destructive power. Words always have consequences, whether good, bad, or indifferent. Words affect outcomes and create self-fulfilling prophecies. The impact of just one word can reverberate in another person’s mind for a lifetime. Think about how often you replay words in your head long after a conversation ends. Author Napoleon Hill said, “Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.” Words are like seeds that will eventually produce sweet fruits or bitter roots.

Ephesians 4:29 (NIV)

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Let’s first talk about how you talk about yourself:

Your daily conversation will either be an encouragement or a discouragement to yourself; it’s your choice. I have personally found that I am my worst enemy or best friend, depending on the situation. The person who controls my well-being is me. Consequently, I have a more challenging time with myself than anyone else. Over the years, I’ve learned this hard truth: the hardest person I will ever lead is me and me alone. What I say to myself determines how well I do. You can’t speak failure over your life and expect to live successfully. You’ll become what you tell yourself you are. Keep saying you’re a loser; sure enough, you’ll live out that experience. Keep saying you’re a winner, and watch how you’ll start to win in life. What you talk about, you tend to get more of. Keep your self-narrative meticulously positive, and I promise you’ll see unbelievable results.

Let’s now talk about how you talk about others:

How we speak to others determines what is in our hearts. We build others up through our words of encouragement to them. We will never truly value people if we constantly tear others down and talk negatively about them. For God’s Spirit to soar within us, we have to speak to others the way God would speak to others. God is not a God of condemnation and guilt. He does not tear others down. On the contrary, He lifts others up with love and truth. GoSSSSSSSSSip, SSSSSSSSSlander, and SSSSSSSSecret WhiSSSSSSSpers about people all come from the SSSSSSSSSSnake, the Devil, who tries to divide and conquer people.

Speak life into others and be a builder of people, not an assassin of them. The more you build others up, the more you are built up. The more you tear others down, the more you will be torn down.

Check out this podcast episode where I taught on the power of our words…