Imagine you had to pay for each word you utter. Actually, that's the case!
Matthew 12:36-37 (NIV)
36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 37: The Last Judgment
Finally we believe,
according to God’s Word,
that when the time appointed by the Lord is come
(which is unknown to all creatures)
and the number of the elect is complete,
our Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven,
bodily and visibly,
as he ascended,
with great glory and majesty,
to declare himself the judge
of the living and the dead.
He will burn this old world,
in fire and flame,
in order to cleanse it.
Then all human creatures will appear in person
before that great judge—
men, women, and children,
who have lived from the beginning until the end
of the world.
They will be summoned there
by the voice of the archangel
and by the sound of the divine trumpet.
For all those who died before that time
will be raised from the earth,
their spirits being joined and united
with their own bodies
in which they lived.
And as for those who are still alive,
they will not die like the others
but will be changed “in the twinkling of an eye”
from “corruptible to incorruptible.”
Therefore,
with good reason
the thought of this judgment
is horrible and dreadful
to wicked and evil people.
But it is very pleasant
and a great comfort
to the righteous and elect,
since their total redemption
will then be accomplished.
They will then receive the fruits of their labor
and of the trouble they have suffered;
their innocence will be openly recognized by all;
and they will see the terrible vengeance
that God will bring on the evil ones
who tyrannized, oppressed, and tormented them
in this world.
Summary
We tend to remember people by the great words they spoke. Often times a person's 'famous last words' are carved into their gravestone. Great leaders are remembered for an inspiring speech. Maybe you've been encouraged by uplifting words whispered to you decades ago.
But Jesus isn't talking about the few 'great' words you've spoken that people remember. He's talking about the empty / careless / worthless words that clog up the vast majority of our speech. This certainly include words you regretted from the moment they fell out of your mouth, but most of these words end up forgotten, not only by those who heard them, but also by you minutes after you spoke them.
But each and every word that you utter throughout your life ends up written down in the books we read about yesterday, and here Jesus warns you that you will have to give an account for every syllable. Literally translated, you will need to pay for each word.
Image how many fewer words you would speak (and/or type) today if you had to reach into your pocket and pay for them as they spill out. Even if you only were charged a dime per word, I'll bet you'd use a lot less! But the sad fact of the matter is that all of your worthless words will cost you dearly, and may even condemn you!
Dig Deeper
Certainly many of your words - words of wisdom and encouragement and which help others out - are a good investment; you'll be happy to give an account of those to the Judge!
And, in fact, some of your words are of infinite value; Jesus says that your words can acquit you - literally translated they can justify you! These words are not worth so much because they convey your brilliance, but because they connect you to the atonement and perfect righteousness of Christ.
Decades after Jesus spoke these words, Paul would write out exactly how your mouth can acquit you when it's directly connected to your heart: If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified (acquitted), and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved (Romans 10:9-10).
So pay attention to what you say, knowing now that you will have to pay for each word you speak! Use your words wisely!
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, to whom you'll have to give an account for every word you've spoken;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will only speak when beneficial and that all of your words would be compatible with your belief and trust in Christ;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Revelation 14
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