A Word Fitly Spoken

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.” Proverbs 25:11

Have you experienced the beauty of this proverb recently? A moment when the carefully chosen words of another lifted your spirits and adorned the truth?

The Scriptures are brimming with counsel in how we are to use our words… Just consider the following!

Our words can breathe out life or death (Proverbs 18:21).

They can build up and give grace to those who hear or breed corruption and cause grievance (Ephesians 4:29–30).

They can instruct and reprove for the purpose of wholeness or they can tear down (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

Additionally, frivolousness in our speech can cause unraveling, but a good word that is timely, true, and draws the listener to Jesus brings refreshment (Proverbs 25:13).

This week, I’d like to encourage each one of us to consider how we can be “faithful messengers” of God—speaking the truth of God in Christ in love, as Ephesians 4:1–16 calls us to do. For when we dwell upon the goodness of Christ toward us in the gospel, our speech cannot help but be formed by such Spirit-led mindfulness.

So, who is one person you can speak a fit, thoughtful, and heartfelt word to this week?

Blessings in Christ,

Rich