We live in a world of constant insult, sarcasm and accusation. The words used have such power that even one of the Ten Commandments addresses it: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” In Hebrew, it’s called “Lashon hara,” or evil tongue. The Hebrew writings say it is sin If someone says something negative about a person, or that is not previously known to that public, and is seriously not intended to correct or improve a negative situation–even if it’s true. The key is speaking the truth in love rather than in anger, condemnation, judgment, or in the case of what we have seen play out recently in our nation, political gain. We know how God feels about it through a curious story about Miriam and Moses.
Deuteronomy 24:9 says, “Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam on the road after you left Egypt.” Miriam and Aaron were speaking against Moses because of his Cushite wife. Afterwards, God avenged Moses, giving Miriam tzara’at, often mistranslated as leprosy. Tzara’at was a spiritual disease that the LORD used to teach His people about humility and repentance. The one with tzara’at was sent away to live outside the camp as a moral outcast, if the person repented and followed the God-given prescription made for healing and purification, then he/she could return. It was the priest who made the diagnosis, not a doctor, and the prescription was a type of death to sin, and resurrection to new life by being washed in the mikveh. The foundation of baptism, was not a new concept to the Jews!
Words harm not just individuals, but entire communities. They damage relationships and destroy trust. No society can survive without trust. In this, there are a number of lessons. Jesus taught many times on this subject, and warned the Pharisees of the coming judgement, in which they would be held accountable for their words. “For by your own words you will be acquitted, and by your own words you will be condemned (Matthew 12:37).” The Greek phrase used was “rema Argos,” meaning “careless or inactive words.” In Matthew 12:34, Jesus said, “For the mouth speaks what overflows from the heart.” The Pharisee’s sin was huge, they had blasphemed the Lord of Glory with their words. But even careless or insignificant words are considered sinful if they do not bring glory to God.
Given the importance of our words and the severe consequences of even the most careless ones, let us learn to yield our tongues to the Holy Spirit’s control. As Psalm 141:3 says, “Set a guard over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.” Lashon hara is a defilement of one’s spirit, that opens the door to physical illness—and is a departure from the call to holiness. James 1:26 tells us that “Anyone who thinks he is religiously observant but does not control his tongue is deceiving himself, and his observance counts for nothing.” We are all made in the image and likeness of God, and God created man to use language to build up others in love. Our use of words is indirectly linked to the “breath of God” within us. While we cannot control what others say, we can control our response. Let us be mindful who we are before the LORD.
