Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me! Sounds good…but History proves this is untrue!

Scripture Read: Judges 9:30-38 But when Zebul, the leader of the city, heard what Gaal was saying, he was furious. He sent messengers to Abimelech in Arumah, telling him, “Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers have come to live in Shechem, and now they are inciting the city to rebel against you. Come by night with an army and hide out in the fields. In the morning, as soon as it is daylight, attack the city. When Gaal and those who are with him come out against you, you can do with them as you wish.” So Abimelech and all his men went by night and split into four groups, stationing themselves around Shechem. Gaal was standing at the city gates when Abimelech and his army came out of hiding.  When Gaal saw them, he said to Zebul, “Look, there are people coming down from the hilltops!” Zebul replied, “It’s just the shadows on the hills that look like men.”  But again Gaal said, “No, people are coming down from the hills. And another group is coming down the road past the Diviners’ Oak.”  Then Zebul turned on him and asked, “Now where is that big mouth of yours? Wasn’t it you that said, ‘Who is Abimelech, and why should we be his servants?’ The men you mocked are right outside the city! Go out and fight them!”

At the breakfast table one morning a pastor, in a pensive mood, asked his wife, "Honey, how many really great preachers do you suppose there are in this world?" She sighed, and responded, "I don't know!  But I have strong feeling that there is one less than you think!"

Sometimes we get ourselves into trouble when we think “we are all that!” Scriptures warn constantly on the danger of pride. Gaal was talking real big, and when we do that we better be prepared to back those words up with action. If we are wise we will measure our words before we let them come out of our mouth. History is full of examples of mouths run-a-muck and the price that was paid. This is just one of many stories from history.

There are some very important lessons we can learn from this passage. First before you speak you need to remember two truths. 1. You never know who is listening, Gaal did not measure his words and Zebul, who was not a friend of Gaal, heard them! Those words opened the door that led to Gaal’s destruction. 

2. Whenever you speak, God is always listening! You never ever speak in a vacuum – whether anyone else hears you or not, God does and He will expect you to answer for what you said.

Matthew 12:36 “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.

Ecclesiastes 5:3–6 For the dream comes through much effort and the voice of a fool through many words. When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands?

If you remember these truths, you will measure your words BEFORE they leave your lips. How much be simpler life can be when we allow God’s Spirit to remind us that God hears all the words we speak. Also, those around us may be listening and we need to ask ourselves if what we are about to speak is for public consumption. 

The second lesson is, the bigger your words, BIGGER actions will be required! This can be positive or negative. Negative, if we are like Gaal, allowing our pride to guide our words. We allow our flesh to influence our words, and before we know it the actions we must produce to back up our words are far more costly then we thought they would be! Yet, if we allow our words to be impacted by faith, very positive outcomes can take place. For example, when we tell someone God can forgive their sins and guarantee them the ability to live forever with God, those are huge words, but they are backed up by God’s power! This is when words can mean so much, when we testify to a small thinking world about our BIG God!

Learn from Gaal! Do not let the wrong words come out from you. Measure what you say through prayer and yielding to the Spirit of God!

Meditation Questions: How meditatively do you speak? Do you seek to be proactive in your communication, or are you reactive? What does that show? Have you ever realized you spoke to soon? What did you do about that? Do you take the time to rethink a conservation when it’s clear it caused a problem? Would this be a healthy way to evaluate your words?