Yesterday, as I was reading in Matthew, I came to this: Matthew 12:36 “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. Other translations replace “idle” with “careless”, “useless”, and “worthless”. Wow! Those are weighty words! This morning I looked up what exactly the word “idle” meant in the Greek. This is what I found:

Idle:  Strongs G692. Argos. It is an adjective. The word denotes “inactive, idle, unfruitful, barren”. The verb, katargeo, of that word means “to reduce to inactivity:”

Vines Dictionary explains that the word can mean both barren, yielding no return because of inactivity, and idle, as in an “idle word” that is thoughtless or profitless.

Jesus’ warning about idle words was definitely telling us to say what we mean and mean what we say! No one should ever have to caution others about what we have said, with  “her/his words should be taken with a grain of salt”.

A quick search on the phrase, “taken with a grain of salt”, produced this: Cautious Interpretation Required The phrase “taken with a grain of salt” is an idiomatic expression that means to view something with skepticism or distrust, implying that it may not be entirely accurate, reliable, or truthful. It is often used to convey a sense of caution or reservation when considering information, claims, or advice.

For me, when I refer to what someone has said, saying “take it with a grain of salt”, my advice is to believe that though much of what was said may be true, it also could be biased, exaggerated, or more opinion than fact. I’m saying that whoever spoke those words may not even have meant for us to take them at face value. 

As I’ve continued pondering this verse, I’ve been reminded that decades ago I as I was sitting in church, the Lord showed me that sometimes, perhaps even often, I had taken His word “with a grain of salt”! Over the years He has reminded me of that and exhorted me to treat His word differently than I treat anyone else’s words. My heart should never respond to His words as though they are idle words—barren, worthless, useless, or careless!

So Jesus said that we need to be careful about speaking idle, barren, worthless, careless, useless, words. That is what He expects from us, because He has never spoken even one idle word. He watches over His word to perform it. He decrees and it is done. God’s every word is full of His life. Jesus IS the Word of God. Every word Jesus spoke was full of the essence of God, the life of God, the truth of God, the power of God. He never uttered a single word that did not carry all the truth and power of Heaven in it. We need to get a grasp on that. 

Do we take God’s words “with a grain of salt”, expecting them  to be like ours? Sometimes we exaggerate, we speak  harmless “fibs”, we speak out our wishful thinking, we speak idle threats, we make empty promises, we promise things with full intentions to make good on them, but then something happens or changes so that we are unable to carry out those promises. We know those things about ourselves and we realize that most people don’t always say things that carry 100% truth…sometimes even if they truly believe they do!

We cannot hear words spoken by God the same way we hear people. Not only did He mean those words, but because Jesus IS the way, the truth and life, then Jesus, who IS the word of God, delivers 100% truth and life with every word He uttered. I’m sure that Jesus never said anything, only to later think, “If I’d thought about it, I’m sure I could have said it more perfectly! Jesus is God! What He has spoken is what is truth! We have to handle scripture like we are handling the power and nature of God, who is more precious than silver, more costly than gold. We have to believe that His Word, His every word, carries His power—to heal, to deliver, to make all things new! 

Lord, forgive me for any time I have, in my heart, accused you of the very thing you told us NOT to do. You said we would be accountable for every idle word we have ever spoken. I’m sure there have been times in my life when I read scripture and thought that You didn’t expect for us to take it at face value. I never thought You were a liar, but sometimes when I read astounding promises or warnings, I’m sure my heart’s response was that You were exaggerating, or didn’t mean to be taken literally. In essence, I treated some of scripture as if You had given “idle words”. Forgive me. I never want to take anything You have said “with a grain of salt”. You said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away,” (Matthew 24:35) and I believe it! You are such a powerful God. There is no God like You in all the earth! You are an intentional God and I know that Your every word is given with all the intentionality of Heaven behind it. Oh Father, give me a soft heart, eager to allow Your word, sure and certain, to accomplish every intended purpose of Yours in my life. Thank You Lord! Amen