Can you make bad things happen by speaking about them?
Question:
Can you put bad things and words into the universe by saying them? My husband says in Mathew 12:35-37 it says you can. When I try to tell him his son is going to die if he keeps using drugs, he tells me I am putting that into the universe and it will happen to him. Is this true?
Answer:
"Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned" (Matthew 12:34-37).
The passage is being totally misunderstood. Jesus is saying that what you say reflects the type of person you are inside -- especially the things you say when you aren't trying to impress someone else. When God judges us, come Judgment Day, we will be giving an account of all that we say, not just what we consider to be the important things.
"The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue talks of justice. The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide" (Psalms 37:30-31).
"He who speaks truth declares righteousness, but a false witness, deceit. There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health. The truthful lip shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but counselors of peace have joy" (Proverbs 12:17-20).
"He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction" (Proverbs 13:3).
Acknowledging what is true doesn't make it happen. Events happen whether you admit them or not. The problem is that by pretending that his son doesn't have a problem, your husband isn't giving his son the help that he needs. "The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge" (Proverbs 18:15). "A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished" (Proverbs 22:3).
Still, what is needed are possible solutions. I suspect that your husband knows the danger to his son, though he doesn't want to admit it. Yet, at the same time, he doesn't know what to do. Finding out what he can do will benefit your husband the best.
