When a car cuts you off during rush hour, what are the first words that come to mind—or leave your lips?
“I would encourage you in this world full of hurtful and hateful speech, don’t join in on the noise,” Cissie Graham Lynch said on the newest episode of her Fearless podcast. “Press pause before you speak and before you respond.”
Controlling our tongues doesn’t come easily, but what we say—and how we say it—matters. The world is watching us.
“One of the first impressions we make as Christians in our communities … is with our mouths,” Lynch said, sharing her own struggle to respond to hatred with kindness.
Over 120 verses in Scripture talk about our tongue, showing us how our words can either be destructive or life-giving.
Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (ESV).
When we as believers choose to season our speech with grace and truth, we show those around us the transformative power of God’s love.
“As Christians, we have to hold each other accountable,” said Lynch, challenging her listeners to guard their mouths and listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. “We cannot respond the way that the world responds. We are to be different.”