Have you ever been hurt by something someone said? Or even worse, have you hurt someone deeply by something you blurted out? Maybe that heartache you felt caused you to hurl hurtful words at someone else too. When will all this stop? Proverbs 12:18 can help you and me stop hurting people and start helping them. It gives us hope that we can stop bashing and start building.
“There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.” (Proverbs 12:18)
The word “speaks” means “to speak angrily or rashly.” Hasty words have wounded many. Impatience impales. Proverbs 12:16 reminds you that “a fool’s wrath is presently known, but a prudent man covereth shame.” When you are wounded by words, it is easy to respond in kind. But the 
prudent person won’t skewer others with the sword of swift speech. He or she will “cover shame” rather than blasting others in “the blame game.”
It’s been said that until you speak a word, you are the master of it, but after it is spoken it can rule over you. So while you are still the master of the unspoken word, why not consider Proverbs 12:18? Rather than whipping out words like a weapon, you can intentionally help others to heal. You can use your words for “good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers” (Ephesians 5:29). From experience, you know that “wounding words” rattle around in your mind for days. So before you speak, think of your impact. What do you hope to accomplish? Remember, “the tongue of the wise is health.” You can use your words for the well-being of others.
This proverb is even more important with the rise of social media. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are like megaphones in the modern world. A sociology professor from East Stroudsburg University (in Pennsylvania) found this out the hard way. It resulted in her suspension. In January, 2010, she had written, ‘Does anyone know where I can find a very discrete hitman? Yes, it’s been that kind of day?’ Then in February: ‘had a good day today. DIDN’T want to kill even one student. :-). Now Friday was a different story.’ Gadsden said she posted the comments in jest, on a profile she thought could only be seen by friends and family.”[i]
We’ve all had bad days in which the words and actions of others have wounded us. But when our pain causes us to use our speech like a sword, the result is never good. Why not ask the Lord to give you a heart to help others heal?
Pastor Gordon Dickson
[i] Huessner, Ki Marie and Fahmy, Dalia, “Teacher Loses Job After Commenting About Students, Parents on Facebook,” ABC News, August 19, 2010 accessed on May 9, 2017 at http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/facebook-firing-teacher-loses-job-commenting-students-parents/story?id=11437248
Photo courtesy of Wigjaya Ivan at Flickr.com