If you’re new to this blog, I’ve been working through the 70 resolutions of Jonathan Edwards and we are finally coming to a close. Resolution #70 says…

Let there be something of benevolence in all that I speak.

Benevolent means to be kind, generous or charitable. 1 John 4:8 tells us that “God is love” which means that everything that he does is born out of love. God cannot be anything but love because that’s who he is. He doesn’t just have love or act lovingly; it’s who he is at the core.

Edwards was resolving to take on this characteristic. What we say obviously is an overflow of who we are. Matthew 12:34 says, “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.” If someone were to look at our words from the last day, last week, last month and last year, what would they learn about the condition of our hearts? A lot probably. I admit that I tend to be very quick to speak at times. I tend to overlook and underestimate the power of words which gets me into trouble in certain situations. I can be hurtful without even fully realizing what I’m doing. Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

Probably very few of us really grasp the power that we have throughout the course of the day to do good or to do evil with our words. Probably even fewer of us take the time to comprehend what our words tell us about the condition of our hearts. It would be wise for us to take Edwards’ lead here and aspire to use our words to spread love into the lives of others. It is a simple, practical and extremely difficult way for us to change the world.