[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":72},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Flife-changing-words":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Flife-changing-words-surround":61},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":12,"columnName":44,"date":45,"description":18,"extension":46,"image":47,"meta":48,"minRead":49,"navigation":50,"path":51,"postType":52,"publication":53,"publicationUrl":47,"seo":54,"stem":55,"topics":56,"__hash__":60},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Flife-changing-words.md","Life-Changing Words",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11],"Matthew","Proverbs","1 Corinthians",{"type":13,"value":14,"toc":40},"minimark",[15,19,22,25,28,31,34,37],[16,17,18],"p",{},"One of Jesus' most startling teachings appears in Matthew 12:36, where the Lord says, \"But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.\"",[16,20,21],{},"Every careless word? For most of us, it's hard to make it through a single day without saying some careless words. Can you remember any poorly-considered statements you wish you could retract? Perhaps you already have said something today that you regret. The Bible cautions, \"When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise\" (Proverbs 10:19).",[16,23,24],{},"Careless words are spoken even on occasions as holy as a wedding ceremony. Some brides and grooms approach their solemn vows with a casual attitude that seems to say, \"Can we hurry up and get these formalities over so we can start partying?\"",[16,26,27],{},"I was very serious about my wedding day, but I only partially understood what I was saying. Oh, I meant the vows surely enough, but I didn't comprehend their full impact. The preacher solemnly asked, \"Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife . . . ?\" and as the script dictated I immediately said, \"I do.\"",[16,29,30],{},"But did I? Did I really understand what it means to love? Does an eager young groom realize that \"forsaking all others\" will require a determined effort to resist temptation, build positive fidelity with his mate, and remain faithful in body and mind? Does a starry-eyed bride comprehend that the promise, \"for richer, for poorer,\" will be severely tested when there are too many bills to pay and not enough income to cover them?",[16,32,33],{},"Young couples pledge their love \"in sickness and in health,\" but when a seasoned husband and wife stand beside each other through seasons of emotional depression and physical disability, they take \"I do\" to a deeper level than newlyweds can imagine. Watch an aging couple maintain their bonds of loyalty for 50 years or more, and you will gain immeasurable insight into the words, \"Till death do us part.\"",[16,35,36],{},"And what about our Christian friends who remain single? Instead of saying \"I do\" to a marriage partner, they say \"I do\" to a different call from God. They say \"I do\" to what the apostle Paul termed \"undivided devotion to the Lord\" (1 Corinthians 7:35). Single Christians say \"I will\" when the Lord calls them to contentment and service, and they courageously say \"I won't\" to the enticements of sexual immorality and moral compromise.",[16,38,39],{},"Yes, words can change our lives—especially ones like \"I do,\" \"I will,\" \"I won't,\" and \"I believe.\" I've been married since 1975, but I'm still learning what it means to say \"I love you.\" That's one sentence I never want to say carelessly, but carefully, with all my heart.",{"title":41,"searchDepth":42,"depth":42,"links":43},"",2,[],"First Look","2008-02-10","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Flife-changing-words","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":18},"articles\u002Flife-changing-words",[57,58,59],"Biblical Theology","Spiritual Formation","Discipleship","xgQAE5N_7fDvQYwYwZoYqZMkapKFZm5XDGl_fv4cj6A",[62,67],{"title":63,"path":64,"stem":65,"description":66,"children":-1},"Letters from God","\u002Farticles\u002Fletters-from-god","articles\u002Fletters-from-god","Every day when I arrive home from work, there’s a pile of mail sitting on the kitchen counter. My wife already has collected it from the mailbox and sorted through the bills, newsletters, and advertisements. After struggling to keep up with a flooded e-mail in-box every day, why am I drawn to the pile of mail on the kitchen counter? Because in that pile might be a card or letter from a friend. When you confront a stack of mail, isn’t the first piece you open the one with your name and address scrawled in familiar handwriting on the envelope?",{"title":68,"path":69,"stem":70,"description":71,"children":-1},"Life Sentences","\u002Farticles\u002Flife-sentences","articles\u002Flife-sentences","How can you summarize a life in a sentence or two? Google \"Funny Tombstones\" and you'll discover that some grave markers do it humorously.",1790466160967]