I often hear the words from parents when instructing their children before they separate from them to “be sweet.” They are telling their children to be nice, pleasant to others, obedient, positive, and giving, and the list could go on and on. It is supposed to be a reminder to the child to not do anything that would result in negative words or actions. While we tell our children to be sweet, I often wonder how much we practice it ourselves. We are a bit more sophisticated than the little ones, so we put on the front of being sweet while inside we are full of bitter, selfish, or angry words.
In Proverbs 16:23-24, we see the sweetness in pleasant words. These sweet words are those which are taught and learned by the wise. When we seek wisdom from God, He will guide us in what we are to say, and what we are to think. The wise person teaches his mouth what to say. Because of the wisdom applied to his speech, his words are as sweet as honey to the soul. When we become Christians, the word of God becomes our teacher. There is nothing sweeter to us than what we gain from spending time with Him in His love letter to us. These words we gain from Him are profitable for our health. When we are learning from Him, we learn to trust Him and to rely on Him for guidance, strength, and wisdom. There is no need to fear or fret. Stress goes down, and our dependence on Him is truly good for us physically.
Proverbs 16:23-24 “The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips. Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.”
Our words are to be sweet by edifying others. We are to build them up, not tear them down. It is so easy to allow our mouths to spew out whatever comes to mind. When I was a child I often heard and said, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” This phrase was so untrue. Words do hurt, often they hurt worse than physical pain. Once they are out of the mouth they cannot be taken back. We can apologize and ask forgiveness, but those words are still out there. Satan will use them and bring them back to a person’s memory when they can do the most damage to a relationship.
Ephesians 4:29 “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”
It is so easy to become critical, nagging, selfish, or angry. We don’t have to do anything for our words to become sour and unprofitable. It takes effort, and a close walk with God to talk with sweet words that are helpful to others. Speaking sweet words does not mean they are sappy and meaningless, or fake. Sweet words, can be words that challenge, exhort or admonish someone. Sweet words are words that come from a loving attitude and concern to help others be more like Christ. Some of the sweetest words I ever heard were words of correction that were done with a heart of love. Sweet words are not words that come automatically. We must train ourselves by yielding to the Holy Spirit. We must stay on guard and think before we speak. The greatest way to guard our words is to guard our hearts. In Matthew 15:18, Jesus teaches us that what is in the heart comes out of the mouth. If our hearts are guarded and fixed on obeying God, it will be almost impossible to say words that are hurtful to others. When we do, the Holy Spirit will convict us, and we will feel as if a dagger has pierced through our hearts. We will know immediately that our words were the wrong words.
Matthew 15:18 “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man.”
How sweet are your words? Are you thinking before you speak? Are you guarding your heart against wrong thoughts? What have you said in the past couple of days that God would classify as “sweet words?”
