Words

Contrary to what you may have heard of late, words are not violence, but they can kill. Words are words. Sometimes, they can bruise your ego, but they can never bruise your nose. They can knock the wind out of your sails, keep you humble, and make you reassess your self-image, but they’ll never be able to make you bleed, knock you out, or give you a concussion.

Words can’t kill the flesh like a bullet or a knife, but they can deaden your spirit and make the bile rise in your throat at the mere thought of living. When your enemies can’t kill you outright, trying to kill your reputation, your name, and your spirit is the next best thing.

Jeremiah 18:18, “Then they said, “Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us attack him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.”

We’ll start some rumors and pretend not to hear anything he says. That should sideline Jeremiah for some time because the things he’s saying seem too far-fetched and improbable. Sure, if they were positive and talked about blessings and such, we’d likely believe him, but he’s talking about the word perishing from the prophet, the law from the priest, and the counsel from the wise.

Usually, it’s people who have never had violence visited upon them that believe words to be violence, but that’s always the way of things. People wax poetic about things they have no firsthand knowledge of because, in theory, there’s an underlying romance to it all. Socialism seems like a grand idea until you see the empty eyes and emaciated faces of those living it; then, it doesn’t seem so romantic anymore.

There was no point in the archangel Michael getting into a war of words with the devil over Moses’s body because it wasn’t his fight. It’s also a good reminder for us because once you learn to discern which battles are yours to fight and which battles belong to the Lord, you’ll focus on the needful things and leave the ones outside your sphere of influence to the One who can influence them.

I can’t change the world, but He can. I can, however, grow in Him, learn to hear His voice, and obey His commands. I must do those things, and He can’t do them on my behalf. Everything grinds to a halt when we try to do the things only God can do and fail to do what we were tasked with doing.

Jude 10-11, “But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.”

Although we’ve discussed Korah at length, there are two other negative examples Jude points to, one being Balaam and the other being Cain. Both of these examples are negative, meaning they’re not what believers should aspire to be but rather what they should avoid being.

It seems straightforward enough, but all evidence points to the very real possibility that the modern-day church either doesn’t understand we’re not supposed to have the heart of Balaam and run greedily in error, or knowing we ought not to, they chose to do so anyway.

If you’ve ever wondered what motivates disobedience and rebellion, Jude tells us there are three options: jealousy, greed, or avarice. Cain was jealous of his brother, Balaam was greedy for filthy lucre, and Korah was avaricious for another’s station and position.

Although times may have changed, men’s baser motivations have not. It’s still jealousy, greed, or avarice that animates the compromised soul, and if they’re far enough along in their rebellion, no words will deter them from their goal. The best you can do is say the Lord rebuke you and surrender the matter to God. He will not fail, nor will He let evil prosper.

You can try to resolve the issue in your time and in your way, or you can trust God to be God and deal with the matter as He sees fit, when He sees fit. You have a duty, a task, a calling, and a directive to carry out. Don’t be distracted by other things and fail to do the one thing God commanded you to do.

The archangel Michael knew who his adversary was, but he also knew his mission. He left it to God to deal with the adversary and proceeded with the mission.

When men have no mission and no vision, when God has not given them direction because they still require pruning, is when they try to pick fights, believing that’s how they stand out before God. Talking tough doesn’t impress God the way an angry tic doesn’t impress an elephant.

God knows the inner heart of man, sees beyond the bravado and the big words, and seeks out the obedient and faithful. He seeks out those who will stand when others flee and obey when others don’t. Be faithful in the little things, and greater responsibility will be awarded to you. It really is that simple, but as with everything else, it needs to be complicated in order to be monetized and for someone to be able to put together a course about it.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.