Any given thing is said to “die” when it is separated from its source of strength or power. When a leaf falls from the tree, or any fruit for that matter, it will eventually die. When you get that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach the moment you leave the house with only two power bars on your phone (you know, because the connection you thought was secured through the night wasn’t as securely plugged in as you thought) and realize you left your charger at home. That feeling you get is because you know your phone “shall surely die” at some point in the day even though it’s currently functioning in your hands.
In fact, at the point of separation, anything that is not a part of whatever provides power to it is dead. That is why the moment Adam and Eve sinned, God warned them that they would surely die. They didn’t drop dead right there on the spot but He removed Himself from them. That spiritual death is very (surely) real and active.
Proverbs 18:21 says that death and life are in the power of the tongue. Whether we believe in Him or not, we all live, move and have our being as God’s offspring (see Acts 17:28). He gave and IS our power source. Separation from Him is true death. Hell is the absence of God which is absolute separation.
As such, it is NOT a game when we consider that our speech or who/what we listen to can literally separate us from God. If what you are listening to is not of God, even if it’s the mighty Mos Def (or whatever he’s calling himself these days!) and he drops a curse word on you, that word has separated you from God. Not that your eternity has been lost but at the very moment death is spoken, it can separate you.
Ask a parent how quickly something can go wrong when they’re holding their toddlers hand in the street and they lose contact. It’s not a game. Seconds of separation in this perilous world give way to something horrible entering between you and your Father that can either spiritually maim or physically kill you over and before your time.
Be mindful of what you listen to and what you are speaking to someone – you do NOT want that type of blood on your hands. Life is in the blood (see Leviticus 17:14) and it will seek, speak and demand restitution:
‘And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.”
– Genesis 4:9-10
SELAH.
