26 Letters

Have you ever heard this quote: "Dear God, please put Your arm over my shoulder and Your hand over my mouth"? That applies to me perfectly most days. More often than not, I am mentally kicking myself for some stupid, hurtful, or thoughtless thing I said. My mouth gets me into trouble more than anything else. There are many verses in the Bible, especially in Proverbs, that have some pretty harsh words concerning what we say.

Take this one, for instance: "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." (Proverbs 10:19, NIV84)

Here's another one: "He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin." (Proverbs 13:3, NIV84)

Or this one, found in James: "Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." (James 3:5,6 NIV84)

If that wasn't enough conviction for you, listen to this: "If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless." (James 1:26, NIV84)

Ouch. Uh-oh. Yikes. Double ouch.

These verses all have something in common- obviously, they all talk about our words, our tongues, what we say, etc., but they also have something else in common.
All of these verses, along with all of the books of the Bible, all of my blog posts, and all of the words that come out of my mouth, not to mention the countless other things we use the English language for, are made up of 26 letters. Just 26.

There is power in these 26 letters...power in this gift of language that God has given to us.

Those 26 letters could encourage and inspire.
Those 26 letters could judge and condemn.
Those 26 letters could strengthen someone's confidence and convictions.
Those 26 letters could cause someone to come crashing down.

In these 26 letters, we hold the power to kill and to heal. We can make someone laugh or cause them great pain. We can initiate war or encourage peace (Ecc. 3).

The Bible speaks to this fact:
"The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit." (Proverbs 15:4, NIV84)
"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." (Proverbs 12:18, NIV84)
"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." (Proverbs 18:21, NIV84)

Now, how does this topic apply to the pro-life debate?
Let me ask you this question- which of the following women do you think would be more likely to come to know Jesus:
1) the woman whose only knowledge of "Christians" is that of the ones who hurled insults at her and called her a murderer and told her she was condemned to hell because she had an abortion?
or
2) the woman who found love and compassion from someone who genuinely cared not only about the life of her child, but also about her?

I'm going with the latter.

It's true that abortion is murder, and murder is sin, and because of sin we all deserve to go to hell.
But while Jesus taught us to speak truth and to not tolerate sin, He also taught us to extend grace and mercy and to love unconditionally.
Consider this story found in John 8:1-11 (ESV):

"...but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, 'Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?' This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.' And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.'"

Do you see what He did? He did not deny that her adultery was sin. He called it what is was and warned her to turn away from it. BUT He extended His mercy and love to her all the while.
As Christians, I believe that's what we all should strive for.
And, oh, the combination can be so hard to balance.
I've said before that my tendency is to put truth before love. Maybe your tendency is to put love before truth. When struggling to find a balance, I hope we will all refer back to this example that Jesus gave us and use it in our own lives to the best of our ability.

When interacting with anyone on either side of the pro-life debate, remember the power that your words have.
When interacting with your co-workers or your boss, remember the power that your words have.
When interacting with your teachers or your students, remember the power that your words have.
When interacting with your mom, dad, or siblings, remember the power that your words have.
When interacting with your husband, wife, or kids, remember the power that your words have.
When interacting with hurting people, remember the power that your words have.

And remember how Jesus used His words and His power.

I am preaching to myself more than to anyone else...I have a lot of remembering to do.

"Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips." (Psalm 141:3, NIV84)

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14, NIV84)

You've got 26 letters. Use them for good.

Until next time,

Ashlyn ♥