Words are not empty. They build up or tear down, bless or wound, strengthen faith or spread unbelief. God takes words seriously because they proceed from the heart and give direction to lives. This is encouraging, for your mouth can become an instrument of life. But it is also confronting: what do you allow to come from your mouth daily? Criticism, cynicism, complaining, and harsh judgments sometimes seem honest, but they can become spiritual poison. The question is not only whether you are right; the question is also what fruit your words bear.