Fountains of Life

Words.

They are the way we communicate to those around us. They are the thoughts we choose to project to the outside world, nuanced by our tone to convey the meaning we want to portray. Every word we say, and the way in which we say it, has meaning, and that meaning has power. Death and life, according to the Bible, are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). 

And I can attest to the life-giving power that words can have. 

There was a day earlier this year when my self-esteem was at a low. School was hard. I had a multitude of assignments due that I didn’t have the time to finish. I was failing at basketball. My shots weren’t falling that day, and I felt out of sync with my teammates. I had no time for anything. All day, I had been rushing from task to task, working as hard as I could to get everything done. Yet I still felt like I completed nothing. As I sat on the high school gym bleachers before my game, all I could think about was how much of a failure I was. 

A group of highschoolers walked by me, and one girl in particular caught my eye. I remember thinking about how absolutely radiant she was. Golden hair cascading down her shoulders. Bright eyes wide with animation. A beaming smile that could capture the hardest heart. At that moment, she represented the complete opposite of how I was feeling. 

As she passed by, she suddenly turned to me with wide eyes and said, “You are SO beautiful!”

I was so stunned by her words that I didn’t know how to respond. I felt anything but beautiful. But whether she meant it or not, her compliment poured life into my discouraged soul. At a time when I felt useless, when I felt ineffective, when I felt overlooked, those simple words reminded me that I am worth something. That I am here for a purpose, not just to take up space. That I am beautiful, not because of how I look, but simply because I am God’s creation. 

Although nothing changed about my circumstances, about the issues I was facing that day, something inside me was revived. My heart was filled with joy because of the encouragement I gleaned from that girl’s life-giving words. 

Life truly is in the power of the tongue. But it also holds the power to destroy. 

Several years ago as a young child, I was playing a game with a group of older kids who I looked up to immensely. This game involved partners. There was one girl three years older than me who I particularly admired, so when it was time to pair up, I walked happily and hopefully over to her. But instead of being welcomed graciously, I was given a glare of irritation. 

“Why,” she sighed loudly to the person next to her, “do I always get stuck with the little kids?” 

Hearing those words broke my little heart.

Those words cut through my hope-filled soul, making me realize how much less the girl valued me than I thought. She saw me as a little kid. She saw me as a persistent burden. It hurt especially coming from the girl I looked up to the most, the girl whose approval I desperately desired. 

And the effect of her words reached far beyond that moment. To this day, I still get anxious when I have to pick a partner for fear that I will face a similar rejection.

Words can destroy. 

The fact that our mouths hold the power either to bring life or destruction into someone’s life is a responsibility that should be taken more seriously. 

If we are to live righteously as the Bible calls us to, our mouths should be “fountains of life” (Proverbs 10:11). When we choose to say things with the intent of encouraging, uplifting, and building up others, it can literally bring life into the souls of others. However, we often abuse the control we have over our mouths and use our words to bring posion to the soul. We degrade individuals through gossip, humiliate people to elevate our own reputations, and unthoughtfully insult others. The reason for this struggle can be found inside our hearts: the sinful nature that wrestles against our will to speak life-giving words. Our mouths are like the gateway between out inside thoughts and emotions, and the outside world, so the words we say are reflections of what is happening inside of us. 

So, in order to have hearts that reflect the words we want to say, we need to start by assessing what we are filling our hearts with. Jesus calls us to abide in Him daily so that our hearts are constantly consuming things that will bring life to our hearts, enabling us to reflect that life-giving nature through our words. According to Jesus, the people who believe in Him will have hearts that “flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). By simply spending time with Him everyday, reading and meditating on His Word, communicating with Him through prayer, our hearts will be overflowing with life. Not only is this essential for our personal relationships with Him, but it will also aid in the process of sanctification, or becoming more like Christ, allowing us to have speech that emulates Him.