21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. ~ Proverbs 18:21
King Solomon said that death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat of its fruits. Those who love their tongue, who use it, who speak, they will eat the fruit of whatever it is they have spoken. Whether blessing or curse. Life or death. Healing or sickness. It doesn’t matter. And here’s the thing: death and life aren’t bound to the life of the person who speaks it.
I was recently talking with a loved one, and they kept speaking words of death on America, her people, and me. And after each word they spoke, I, in turn, looked up to heaven and canceled their words in the name of Jesus. See, they weren’t speaking out of hatred towards America, her people, or me. They were speaking out of hopelessness and ignorance. Their words weren’t intended to be words of malice or death, but their intention is irrelevant.
Our intention may not be for wickedness, but our actions are not bound by our intention. Intent is irrelevant; what has been done is what matters. Our words are powerful. People’s words are powerful. They have the power to impact our lives if we let them. I could’ve just brushed it off as drunken talk and just moved on. But why take that chance? Why let those words linger in the atmosphere? What good would that do? None. So, I canceled those words in the name of Jesus. I brought them into submission to Christ. I didn’t allow the enemy a single foothold into my life or the outcome of my country or her people.
It’s time that Christians begin to stand up and cancel words of death and replace them with words of life. It’s time to stop overlooking words spoken and begin to take that proverb seriously. It’s time we stand up and take our rightful place as watchmen of our lives, homes, communities, and nations. It’s time to take back the power from the enemy and fight back in this war.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Ignore Intent.