Every Idle Word
“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.”
For the all-knowing God, it is not hard to keep a record of our every sin and even our every word. Misused words often are sins—including lying, swearing and speaking words of hatred, lust and disrespect.
Our thoughtless words can be sinful as well, since they can reflect the “evil treasure” of our hearts (verse 35).
The solution is to repent of sinful idle words we have spoken in the past, and seek God’s help to change our hearts—to fill them with an abundance of good words. King David prayed, and so should we, “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3).
For more about the right and wrong use of our words, see the section on “The Joys and Challenges of Communication,” including “You Don’t Say! Think Before You Speak.”
