We speak thousands of words daily.  Imagine if someone could weigh all your words, what would the outcome be?  Would the scale tilt to the side of speaking what is true, uplifting, wholesome, good, and pure?  Or will the scale tip to the side of lies, deceit, strife, swearing and hurtful comments?

Psalm 141:3 says "Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord.  Keep watch over the door of my lips."  This is a powerful verse and a beautiful word picture.  We are used to opening and closing doors, a door is a protective barrier.  It separates the inside from the outside, or the one side from the other.  You control the doors in your life, allowing someone to either enter through the door, or to stay outside.

This is the picture that the Holy Spirit wants to give believers to teach us to think about the words we allow to cross over the "barrier" of our lips.  May the Holy Spirit convict us, when words grieve Abba Father and may the Spirit help guard and guide us as we consciously speak life-giving words.  Matthew 12:36-37 "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken.  For by your words, you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."  This verse should bring the reverential awe and fear of God over all of us so that we do not take our manner of speech lightly.  Weigh the words you speak.  Keep watch over the door of your lips!

The mouth is a place of intimacy.  We kiss, eat, drink, sing and praise God with our mouth, yet out of this same mouth we could "kill" people with our words.  This is heartbreaking.   Proverbs 12:18 says.  "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise bring healing."  Proverbs 15:1, 2, 4 and 28 "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.  The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.  The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.  The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil."

The Hebrew word for tongue is Lashon. The balancing bar of a weighing scale, has a tilting mechanism which in Hebrew, is also called Lashon.  A picture paints a thousand words.  Every time we use our tongues, it is like we are tilting the scales to either the side of truth, blessing and life or to lies, darkness and death.  This diagram is helpful to remind us that every word we speak carries weight.

Psalm 55:21 "His speech is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords."  Jeremiah 9:8 "Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceitfully.  With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbours, but in their hearts, they set traps for them."  Matthew 12:34 "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."  The Holy Spirit knows your heart intent.  Allow the Spirit to rule over your body and soul, so that you speak life-giving words.

Another example is the Hebrew root word; Dalit ד, Beit ב, Resh ר.  One spelling is Davar – Strongs 1697 and in Hebrew it means "word, speech, or thing."  The other spelling is Dever – Strongs 1698, which means "pestilence and plague", in the sense of destroying.  So, we have two Hebrew words, with the same root letters, but different vowel markings.  The lesson we must learn here, is that we either speak forth "words" or cause "destruction."  The power of your tongue can either build up with life-giving words, or tear down.  If we keep violating words, Davar, pestilence, will break out.  The Bible gives the example of Miriam speaking against Moses and leprosy breaking out on her.  That is a sobering reminder of how we must continually weigh our words and watch over the door of our lips.  There will be consequences for continuous, deliberate, wrong choice of words.  Let your words carry His light and His truth.

In a perfect world, perfect ways of communicating will be easy.  The challenges come in the heat of the moment, stressful situations, difficult circumstances when communication seems to be tested to the maximum pressure level.  Yeshua Messiah showed us how.  He did not react, He responded.  Proverbs encourages us not to react in the heat of the moment, but to wait.  Prov. 17:27 "Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered."

May the Holy Spirit teach us restraint and give us wisdom, discernment, and patience when we communicate.  May we know when to be silent and when to speak up.  May we be quick to listen and slow to speak.

A familiar idiom is "Talk the talk, walk the walk."  Choose life-giving words that bless others.  The more you align your words with The Word, Yeshua, the more you sow seeds of loving kindness.  Teach your children to weigh their words.  Friends, family, and fellow community members will be blessed by words that build up, instead of words that tear down. Ephesians 4:29 "Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen."

A smile goes a long way.  Smile, and let your words tilt the scale to the side of restoration, healing, encouragement, and blessing.