Worry is a place of exile and pain. “For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength” (Isa. 30:15). This message, alas, is rarely heeded because people are easily seduced by the vain attractions and empty threats of this evil world. We are constantly barraged with spurious messages that appeal to our lusts, our fears, or our vanity: “Buy me!” “You need this!” “Find pleasure,” “This will bring you love, respect,” etc.; Or we are given subliminal messages to be afraid and conform to the programming of those in power, to uncritically trust authority figures, to resist independent thinking, to submit to the mass hypnosis of the collective, and so on. We are so saturated by such fraudulent messages that we often deprecate them as “just words” and thereby become cynical of our need for truth. Because worldly language is a means of coercion and violence, we must be ready to think clearly and to ask the deeper questions about truth, significance, and the reality that language was intended to reveal to our conscious minds.
Just as written words require surrounding spaces to identify their significance, however, so we need quiet – silence spaces within our souls – to heed the message of truth. Indeed the Torah links the use of language with the soul (i.e., nefesh: נֶפֶשׁ) since God breathed into Adam the ability to think and to speak. Thought and speech, then, are two primary characteristics of being created in the image (צֶלֶם) of God. A declarative statement constitutes an implied promise of veracity or”testimony” that is considered a “bond on the soul” (אִסָּר עַל־נַפְשׁוֹ) and therefore our use of words is directly linked to the “breath of God” within us. This further implies that lying, equivocating, denying the truth, or breaking our word defaces the image of God within us.
Yeshua spoke of “good and evil treasures of the heart” that produce actions that are expressed in our words (Luke 6:45). Our inward motive determines our thinking, which in turn affects the way we act and use words. Therefore He warned: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless (ἀργὸν) word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt. 12:36-37). Our very salvation is based on confession of the truth, and therefore we must be sure to use communication as a means of expressing the love and grace of God (Rom. 10:9; Col. 4:6). We must be on guard to keep away from lashon hara (evil speech) by focusing on what is worthy, lovely, and of good report (Prov. 13:3, Phil. 4:8). As King David prayed: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).
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Since words represent thoughts, the use of our tongues has to do with how we choose to think… “Think on these things…” We are instructed to “take every thought captive” (αἰχμαλωτίζω, i.e., lead away as a prisoner) to the obedience of Messiah… It is wise to restrain our speech, because, after all, we often have no idea what we are talking about, and therefore our words can become unruly and even dangerous. Whenever we open our mouth to speak, Heaven is listening (Matt. 12:36-37). Therefore may it please God to help us use our words for the purpose of strengthening and upbuilding (οἰκοδομὴν) one another (Eph. 4:29). May our words always be gracious and “seasoned with salt” (Col. 4:6). Amen. “Whoever keeps His word, in him truly the love of God is perfected” (1 John 2:5).