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Our Words Are Food

Have you ever thought about the words you speak being food? That might not be the first mental image you get when you think about your words, but the book of Proverbs makes that comparison. 

First, Solomon makes the analogy in a negative way, writing in 26:22, "The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body."

A whisperer is a gossip, someone who has to look over his shoulder before he lowers his voice and passes on what he is about to say. Many people have a craving for gossip that can never be satisfied. And the whispered words taste so good going down--they are truly delicious morsels. The Hebrews phrase literally reads "things greedily devoured;" the gossip is a glutton, feasting on words when he should be pushing away from the table. 

I might greedily devour an entire cheesecake, and enjoy each bite in that moment. But after the fact my blood sugar spikes and I can't button my pants. In a similar way, the words of a whisperer go down into the body and bring consequences we rarely think of while the fork is in our hand. 

The other time Solomon makes this analogy is in a positive way, writing in 18:20-21, "From the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is satisfied by the yield of his lips. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits."

We can live healthy lives on a diet of wholesome words--honesty, compliments, and positivity form a food pyramid that will nourish our souls, and the lives of those around us. 

Death and life really are in the power of the tongue. The words we choose have an impact on those around us because we can tear people down, hurt their reputation, deceive them and lose their trust, or hurt their feelings and lower their self-esteem. On the other hand, we can lift people up, edify them, and teach them truth. But if we think about our words as the food we eat, we need to also realize how our own words impact us. 

Our negative words are like poisoning ourselves when we become that liar, gossip, divider, or pot stirrer. Those kinds of words turn us into the people no one else trusts or wants to be around. Be careful what kind of words you speak, because you cannot live on a diet of unwholesome words. 

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