The Power of Talk

There are a lot of famous sayings that describe how words, expressions, and conversation can have dramatic effects on other people. Who has not heard the adage, “The pen is mightier than the sword.”?

What we say can produce good effect or bad effect, which is why the Bible also has a lot of quotable verses about our speech (for example, Proverbs 18:21, Matthew 15:11, James 1:26 or James 3:7-12).

The verse that I’ve found most helpful on this topic is from Ephesians 4:29:

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Can you imagine that the words you speak today could be corrupting of another person or they could be strengthening of another person? Of course, as Christians, we always want to be strengthening other people and building them up, and avoid any sort of conversation that could be destructive of people or relationships (if you want a good list of corrupting behavior and speech, take a look at the list in 2 Corinthians 12:20).

One way we can meditate on Scripture is to memorize a verse and bring it to mind whenever we encounter the situation it describes. So, for example, before entering into a conversation with your boss, your spouse, your child, your friend or even a random person you meet … pause for a moment … remember that you represent Jesus … recall this verse from Ephesians … then talk.