Job 6:25 How forcible are right words! But what doth your arguing reprove?
Have you heard an argument between two friends when both of them were wrong? Isn’t it frustrating to be in an argument when you find out you are both wrong? Some people think, “Well, I’m never wrong.” All of us are wrong at some time, and sometimes both people in a given discussion can be wrong. That is because sometimes we have the wrong assumptions. It is not that our words are wrong. It is that our words are misused from wrong or misinformed thoughts.
In the book of Job, a conversation that began mildly between Job and his friends ends wildly with quite an argument. His friends defended the honor of God and Job defended his own honor. The fact of the matter is that both of them misunderstood what had happened. You see, you cannot speak right or well if you do not think right and well.
Eliphaz, one of Job’s friends, answers Job, “Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent?” Apparently he had never read the book of Job because Job was going through the mill and it was not because of any specific sin in his life. To be sure Job, as he later confesses when he sees God for Who He is, was a worm, but God was not judging him for any specific sin. Job himself asks God, “And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity?” The answer was that this was not about transgression or iniquity.
You see, we often ask God to help us have the right words, and that is good. But before we ask God for the right words, we ought to ask God for the right thoughts. The right word is not the same as a fancy word. It is a matter of the right word to the right person in the right way at the right time. It is a matter of discernment.
Job said to his friends, “Look upon me; for it is evident unto you if I lie.” That wasn’t quite true. There wasn’t evidence that was overwhelming to them. Later on Job said, “Can’t I discern perverse things?” So, both evidence and discernment are important. Discernment is the ability to distinguish between right and left, right and wrong. We need to ask God’s help for this.
If we use vague words for precise thoughts that is the way of one who wishes to be sneaky. It is the way of a politician who has a specific agenda but only gives vague platitudes. On the other hand, we don’t want to have vague thoughts and precise words. That could get us into trouble because we are communicating something we don’t actually intend. The Bible says in essence in the Proverbs, “A word fitly spoken is a beautiful thing.” A word fitly spoken is most generally the result of a thought fitly thought.
Today, do not merely say, “Lord, please give me the right words.” That is fine. God can answer that prayer, but it is not as if we are looking for fancy words. The prayer should be, “Lord, give me the right thoughts and help me to communicate those accurately to others so that I can honor You and be a blessing to those who hear me.”