Simply put, words matter. Our words can be vessels of encouragement. They can express love to the people who matter most in our lives. Conversely, our words can inflict pain on those at whom we hurl insults. As James 2 says, the tongue is a tiny part of the body that carries a weighty impact. That impact stretches far beyond the moment that words are uttered, and affects others far deeper than the eyes can see. Words are a powerful tool that must be crafted and wielded carefully.
Within the Christian context, our words are a valuable commodity. They can exalt the greatness of God, and they can just as easily tear down another believer. Those who have submitted their lives to Christ have a beautiful message to tell—a tale of sin, grace, and the salvation that God has given us. The hope of the gospel and the truth of God’s Word are remarkable messages that should always emanate from our lips. Sharing the gospel matters. Just as importantly, sharing that gospel with words that reflect the majesty and glory of God is something we need to pursue.
This is exactly what John Piper expresses in his new book, Seeing Beauty and Saying Beautifully. Before you assume this is a book solely for pastors, consider this: those of us in Christ are all people who carry the message of Christ’s death to reveal His life in how we live. To walk in that grace comes with a call to tell of all that God has taught us so that we may make disciples. From the pulpit to the pew to the park bench, the Christian is charged with telling of the wonder and glory of God.
By using the lives of three men—George Herbert, George Whitefield, and C.S. Lewis—Piper communicates the value of knowing the riches we have in Christ while being able to express the beauty of that grace. These three men had very different callings: a poet, a preacher, and a professor. Herbert, a poet, had a gift for crafting beautiful words and phrases, but he was diligent in ensuring the Scriptural truth in his writing. Whitefield and Lewis were both men with staunch theological backgrounds, yet they did not overlook the value of expressing truth beautifully and poetically. Piper says of the three men, “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.”
This book is a challenge to us all to wrestle with our own faith so that we may know the truth, share the truth, and express the truth in a manner worthy of the glorious God in whom we trust. The Christian holds a great treasure in the hope of the gospel—a treasure meant to be shared with the world. Our words should never point back to ourselves and our intellect, but they should be fitly spoken, pointing to the riches of the Father. Seeing Beauty and Saying Beautifully is a challenge for all of us, from pastor to public servant, to grasp the beauty of Christ and to express how truly glorious He is. Our words matter, and it is time we started to talk like it.