Song #37 in our songbook is Angry Words. It’s a short hymn, but its three verses convey an important message about the words we use and their impact on ourselves and others. Although the song focuses on “angry words,” its message applies to many types of speech. I’ll call this category of conversation “careless words.”
Words that are angry, idle, careless or poorly chosen can cause significant harm to those we speak to. However, we often overlook how our words affect us, too. Proverbs 21:23 says, Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles. While the harm we can do to others with our words can be obvious, the impact on our own lives and souls is often less clear. Words have caused great harm to individuals and even to congregations of the Lord’s church, but we rarely discuss the guilt and shame that can affect the speaker.
In Matthew 15:18, God’s word tells us, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.” This passage suggests that when we don’t control our tongue, it reflects the hardness of our hearts—a dangerous state for someone trying to show Christ to the world. This verse also warns us that while controlling our speech is important, controlling our hearts is even more crucial. By changing the way we think, the temptation for careless, angry or thoughtless words becomes weaker as we grow.
When we use or even think about using careless words, we let our minds dwell on things that corrupt our souls and threaten our salvation. Continuing in Matthew 15, we hear this warning, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.” Matthew 15:19-20
So, as we work to be careful with our words, let’s also remember that while not speaking the words aloud is a good start, it’s much more important to stop the evil thoughts that lead to careless words in the first place.
—Martin Kent Miller