Eternal Words

Matthew 12:36
The Message: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation."
New Century Version
And I tell you that on the Judgment Day people will be responsible for every careless thing they have said.

Once you speak a word, it exists forever. The laws of physics tell us that energy in the universe is never lost. It is transformed from one state to another. Sound waves never disappear. Sound is an energetic disturbance that causes a movement of particles. Because space is a vacuum with no matter, sound is unable to “travel.”

Think about the implications – if we had the right equipment voices from the beginning of time could be retrieved. We could actually hear the voices of Adam and Eve themselves speaking to God or Abraham Lincoln’s voice as he spoke the Gettysburg address or Jesus’ own voice speaking the Beatitudes! What an awesome thought!

Words may be spoken to a specific person at a specific time, but they exist in the atmosphere forever. Scripture tells us God’s Word stands forever; and the prayers of the saints are ever before Him. Your prayers exist forever and are before the Father continuously.

But consider the flip side. Every careless, nasty, hurtful, doubt-filled, angry word you’ve ever spoken is still floating around, and not only that. You will be required to answer to God for them. Now if that doesn’t make you stop and think long and hard the next time you are about to criticize someone or spew a word of fear or doubt, I don’t know what will! Our words are eternal in the most basic sense.

We are encouraged and commanded in many places in the Bible to carefully watch what we say. Ephesians 4:29 NIV says: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. I love the way The Message translates this verse: Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. That says it all.