The Words of Life or Death

Written by: John Sernaque

Call to Worship

Leviticus 5: 4-6

5:4 Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with [his] lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever [it be] that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth [of it], then he shall be guilty in one of these.

5:5 And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these [things], that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that [thing]:

5:6 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin.

Bring a Trespass Offering—

Let the members of every family begin to work over against their own houses. Let them humble themselves before God. It would be well to have a trespass-offering box in sight, and have all the household agree that whosoever speaks unkindly of another or utters angry words, shall drop into the trespass-offering box a certain sum of money. This would put them upon their guard against the wicked words which work injury, not only to their brethren, but to themselves. No man of himself can tame the unruly member, the tongue; but God will do the work for him who comes unto Him with contrite heart in faith and with humble supplication. By the help of God, bridle your tongues; talk less, and pray more (The Review and Herald, March 12, 1895). {1BC 1110.6}

If people were accountable for every word spoken, they would be more careful in how they speak. Kind words go a long way in lifting up our brethren. Contrary to that are cruel and harsh words that destroy and injure the soul. When Jesus needed to rebuke and chasten the people, He did it with love. He did not demean or ridicule, He provided the needed correction that brought them into the light, and not push them further into darkness. Go to the light and let God help you bridle your tongue. Speak less and pray more.

Our kind and gracious Father,

We thank You for Your loving kindness. You have been with us all our life and taught us Your ways. Yet we have not always been obedient and You still love us. It is our prayer that we receive Your correction to get us back on the path to Your heavenly kingdom. We pray that we are born again every day to continue to carry our cross. We pray to treat others with the love and kindness You have shown us, and help us bridle our tongues from speaking harsh or angry words to our brethren. Help us to pray more and speak less. We thank You and praise You, in the name of Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.