Words Matter: Speaking with Wisdom in an Age of Outrage

Let Us Pray

Our dear heavenly Father, thank you for giving us ears to hear your Holy Word. We pray for the illumination of the Holy Spirit to make these ancient words of Scripture relevant and near to each of us this day. Shine your Holy light in our hearts so we may share it with others.

In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.

From the Book of Proverbs 12:18

"Rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

In this world of divisive rhetoric and fake news, and in the competition for our attention on social media, where lies seem to attract more attention than truth, how do we navigate the swirl of words around us, and how do we use our own words?

If, as people of faith, we are to honor and glorify God with all that we say and do, what does that look like?

We are going to explore how we use our words and see that honoring God with our words is more than being polite and honest, and not letting our “personal wisdom” fly anytime we feel like it.

When the Bible talks about speech, it is often paired with teachings about wisdom, the Holy Spirit, or the fruit of the Spirit.

From the Book of James Chapter 3:13-18

Two Kinds of Wisdom

¹³ Who is wise and knowledgeable among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be arrogant and lie about the truth. ¹⁵ This is not wisdom that comes down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. ¹⁶ For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. ¹⁸ And the fruit of righteousness^[a] is sown in peace by those who make peace.

James does not write about how to become a Christian, but rather how to act like one.

There are two types of wisdom described in the Bible—earthly and heavenly.

So, what is the connection between wisdom and speech? One is the source, and the other is the product.

James is saying that our words are the indicator of what kind of wisdom is inside of us.

Speech that dishonors God follows the pattern of earthly wisdom, and wise speech that honors God follows the pattern of heavenly wisdom.

When James speaks of earthly, unspiritual, devilish wisdom, what is he referring to? He is saying that envy, boasting, and selfish ambition do not come from God; they come from the brokenness of our human nature or from spiritual forces opposed to God.

Earthly wisdom tells us that we should act and speak in a way that feels best in the moment, that we need to fight for what we think we are due, and that we are justified in lashing out at those who get in our way or wrong us.

These are the attitudes that tempt us to give in to our innate desire to be right, to be better than someone else, and to have the last word in an argument.

We have all experienced moments like these, when we have lost control of ourselves and said horrible things to someone.

And worse, this is what our culture tells us right now is the right way to behave when people disagree with us or hurt us. Social media and current events unfolding in this world before us are fueling these attitudes, and so we find ourselves in this age of outrage.

In this passage, James is describing wise speech that honors God and His purposes.

I don’t think it takes much self-reflection or headline scanning to realize that these characteristics are not very popular, or at least not universally practiced today.

They don’t make us feel powerful and important; rather, they may make us feel vulnerable and insecure, as if other people could take advantage of us if we lived this way.

Wise speech is not necessarily speech that makes us feel good, but rather speech that does us good, whether it is easy to swallow or not. Sometimes hard things need to be said—with mercy and consideration and integrity and love.