. . . from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way. – James 3:10
When a person says one thing but does another, we call it hypocrisy. When someone lives this way repeatedly, our trust in them likely starts to fade. We can’t trust a person’s words if we see something else in how they live.
If God designed us to live as His witnesses, constantly giving testimony to what He has done, consider how damaging it is when we speak in the hypocritical way James wrote about. In church, we sing praises and talk about our trust in God, but throughout the week we live completely apart from Him, being cruel toward others without a second thought. This not only impacts our witness, it is also not how God designed us to live. We are made in His image, created to reflect Him to the world around us.
We have a great opportunity with our words to encourage, to empathize, to ask questions, and to help one another. Christ followers are to take responsibility to steward the gift of speech well. In Christ, we are given new words that glorify Him and honor others.
- What are the places you feel the need to be intentional about what you say? Why? Where are some places you speak more freely? What are some things you feel freer to say when no one is watching?
- What does it look like to honor God in your speech in all areas of your life? Where would that be hardest to do right now?
- Pray and ask God to show you areas where you are not honoring Him with your speech. Ask for His help to change how you speak in that area.
