Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour; I am the Lord. – Leviticus 19:16, KJV

We’ve all heard it before: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” That’s a great saying, but the problem is that it’s not true. Harsh words do hurt, and the Bible is filled with verses that prove so. One such verse is Leviticus 19:16, which The Amplified Bible renders this way:

You shall not go up and down as a dispenser of gossip and scandal among your people, nor shall you [secure yourself by false testimony or by silence and] endanger the life of your neighbor. I am the Lord. 

Harsh words do great damage, and in extreme cases, as Leviticus 19:16 indicates, they can lead to death. Take, for instance, the tragedy of Rebecca Sedwick. In September 2013, 12-year old Rebecca committed suicide after suffering repeated, vicious verbal attacks from two schoolmates. According to CNN.com:

The intense bullying that authorities say led to Rebecca’s suicide stemmed from a dispute between her and a former classmate over a boy they had both dated, police said Tuesday…

According to Judd [Grady Judd, sheriff of Polk County, Florida], the girl was upset that Rebecca had once dated her current boyfriend and began bullying and harassing her more than a year ago when they were both students at a Florida middle school.

In addition to sending harassing messages over the Internet, the girl physically attacked Rebecca at least once, Judd said. She also recruited the girl’s former best friend — the 12-year-old charged Monday — to bully her, Judd said…

Among the online messages that drove Rebecca to jump to her death were, “You should die” and “why don’t you go kill yourself?” Judd said.

The night before Rebecca killed herself, authorities say, she messaged a boy she had befriended online, writing, “I’m jumping. I can’t take it anymore.”

Words mean things, and words have the power to uplift or to destroy. If we are to live out the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself,” then we must steer clear of the venomous tongue that destroys. Not only will our neighbors benefit from our discipline, so will we, for as Proverbs 21:23 teaches us:

He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from troubles.