Simply put, words matter.
Our words can encourage others. They can express love to the people who matter most in our lives.
Conversely, our words can wound the people at whom we hurl insults.
As James 3 says, the tongue is a tiny part of the body with a weighty impact. That impact stretches far beyond the moment we speak. Our words can affect others more deeply than our eyes can see.
Words are powerful tools. We must craft and wield them carefully.
Within the Christian context, our words carry even greater value. They can exalt the greatness of God. They can also tear down another believer.
Those who have submitted their lives to Christ have a beautiful message to tell. It is a tale of sin, grace and the salvation God has given us.
The hope of the gospel and the truth of God’s Word should always flow from our lips.
Sharing the gospel matters. We should also share it with words that reflect the majesty and glory of God.
This is exactly what John Piper expresses in his new book, Seeing Beauty and Saying Beautifully.
Before you assume this book is only for pastors, consider this: Everyone in Christ carries the message of His death and reveals His life through the way we live.
Walking in that grace includes a call to tell others what God has taught us. In doing so, we help make disciples.
From the pulpit to the pew to the park bench, Christians must tell others about the wonder and glory of God.
Truth Expressed Beautifully
Piper uses the lives of three men to make his case: George Herbert, George Whitefield and C.S. Lewis.
Through their examples, he shows the value of knowing the riches we have in Christ. He also shows why Christians should express the beauty of that grace well.
These three men had very different callings: a poet, a preacher and a professor.
Herbert had a gift for crafting beautiful words and phrases. Still, he worked carefully to keep his writing grounded in Scripture.
Whitefield and Lewis both possessed strong theological foundations. Neither man overlooked the value of expressing truth beautifully and poetically.
“They made poetic efforts to see, savor, and show the glories of Christ. This effort was the God-dependent intention and exertion to find striking, penetrating, imaginative, and awakening ways of expressing the excellencies they saw.”
Our Words Should Point Beyond Us
This book challenges us to wrestle with our own faith. We should know the truth, share the truth and express it in a way worthy of the glorious God we trust.
Christians hold a great treasure in the hope of the gospel. God intends for us to share that treasure with the world.
Our words should never point back to ourselves or display our intellect. Instead, they should point to the riches of the Father.
Seeing Beauty and Saying Beautifully challenges all of us, from pastors to public servants, to grasp the beauty of Christ and express how truly glorious He is.
Our words matter, and it is time we started to talk like it.