Known by Your Words

Jdg 12:5 And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;
Jdg 12:6 Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.

Shibboleth: A Heb. word (meaning either a flowing stream or a head of grain), which the Gileadites under Jephthah used in order to discover which of their prisoners were Ephraimites. The Ephraimite pronunciation was Sibboleth, they could not make the "sh" sound.

The manner of speech can show where you are from. Peter was betrayed by his speech. Not only did his accent betray him but his words betrayed his Lord.

Mar 14:69 And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them.
Mar 14:70 And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto.

Mar 14:71 But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak.

I love the accent in a southerners voice. We can recognize a New England accent. A Britain who speaks the kings language may be eloquent, but from a poorer district the language may be quite strange. The musical "My Fair Lady" was concerned with the retraining of a young woman's speech to make her more eloquent to the hearer.

In the Bible, Apollos was said to be an eloquent speaker, but Paul humbly said his words were not eloquent, but by the power of the Holy Ghost.

1Co 2:2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
1Co 2:3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
1Co 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
1Co 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

The accent can be detected from our speech and we may know where someone came from, but more importantly it shows where are heart is coming from. Our heart is shown by the words we use; as Jesus said.

Mar 7:20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
Mar 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Mar 7:22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
Mar 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

Jas 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

Rom 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
Rom 16:18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

Our accent may betray our origin, but our words betray or they glorify our LORD. Choose your words carefully and be discerning in what you hear.