Proverbs 10:32

The lips of the righteous know what is appropriate, but the mouth of the wicked, only what is perverse.

The average adult speaks a 54-page book into existence every single day. That’s somewhere between 18,000-25,000 words. Were all the words that came out of your mouth yesterday…appropriate? How about today, so far? And by appropriate, this passage means appropriate to God. To make matters worse, Jesus said in Matthew 12:36-37, “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.  For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” Yikes.

What can we say that God would find appropriate? Surely, words that you use to share the gospel would make the cut. Encouraging words, too. How about words uttered when properly discipling or teaching another Christian? In general, words that lift people up in some way and glorify God. Of course, we can speak the right words with the wrong heart, and when that happens the bible says we are like a resounding gong or a clanging symbol (1 Cor. 13:1). Additionally, we can sound encouraging but are we really just flattering people to better position ourselves (Gal. 1:10). God is judging not merely our words, but the intent behind them.

On the other hand, what qualifies as perverse speech? Aside from the obvious, like explicit language, perverse language twists God’s truth or words like the serpent did in the garden (Gen. 3:1) or Satan did when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness (Mth. 4:6). It probably includes course language or crude language, while the world would say those words are no big deal. The question is – what does our Holy and Perfect Father think of them?

In the final analysis, we should desire to honor God in every conversation and with every word we choose. As the Psalmist said, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer” (Ps. 19:14).