I was reading in the book of Revelation the other day, and these words in Revelation 9:17-19 struck me:
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them...and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
19 For their power is in their mouth…
I don't pretend to understand all the symbolism that John uses in the book of Revelation, and I’m sure there are many possible interpretations of these verses, but the meaning that struck me when I read them this time was the power we each have to do good or evil, the Lord’s work or Satan’s work, through the words of our mouths.
This can apply to the words we speak to those we know and love, to the words we speak to acquaintances and strangers, and to the words we speak about others. Through the words of our mouths we have the power to build others up or to tear them down, to lead them to truth or away from it.
We do a lot of communicating in our lives, especially in this age of social media where our words have the power to go a lot further than to just our immediate acquaintances, and I think sometimes it can be beneficial to take a step back and analyze the words of our mouths and if those words have greater power to bring about harm or good in the world, to serve God’s purposes or to thwart them.
Do our words reflect the charity, patience and forgiveness of the Savior? Do they reflect our knowledge of the infinite worth of each of our Heavenly Father’s children and their potential for greatness, or do we demonize some and promote others whose opinions more closely match ours?
When we communicate about concerns or disagreements we have with the words or positions of others, do the words we use speak out against evil, or do they speak evil of good, but imperfect people and thwart the good they are working to accomplish by focusing all the attention on the weaknesses we see in them? Are we building people up with our words and celebrating their strengths and the good they are doing, or are we tearing them down and demonizing them for their weaknesses or differences of opinion? Are our words bringing people to Christ and the truths of His gospel or making it more difficult for them to find them?
I think we would all do well to take a look at the words of our mouths and make sure that in all situations in our lives we are using their power for good and not evil.
