From the fruit of his lips a man enjoys good things, but the unfaithful have a
craving for violence. He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks
rashly will come to ruin. ~Proverbs 13:2-3
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. ~Ephesians 4:29-32
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. ~Colossians 4:5-6
I remember hearing a friend give a devotional on Psalm 139 once. When she got to verse 4 which says: “You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O Lord.” Her comment was something to the effect of, “If He knows what I’m going to say, so often, I wish He’d have stopped me!” I’m pretty sure we can all relate to feeling that way from time to time. Our tongue does appear to be one of the ten, reoccurring themes of Proverbs. I guess that Solomon, through the Lord’s wisdom, realized that we need a lot of reminding and instruction for taming the little rascal.
I think that, for our purposes, we are dealing here mostly with another third and fourth soil discussion. Yes, there are those who are mean and can use their words to really be hurtful. I don’t believe that there is anyone of that sort on this list though. I’ve said before that I believe that most of the people here are, or want to be, fourth soil people. Again, we are challenged with the question, “What is there for us to learn here?”
Would it be fair to say that all of us have our moments? We can all relate to the lament of my friend who wishes that God would stop her before she speaks. There are those moments when we are unkind, speak out of anger, gossip, or criticize and become discouraging. It usually happens when we let our emotions get the best of us and give in to a sinful impulse before we think, or else we have decided that we’d rather vent than practice control.
When that happens, most of us, like my friend, regret the incident. This only reinforces Peter’s admonition that we must always be on the alert. We should never let our guard down in how we act or what we say. This is because we have no idea the repercussions. We may think we know who is watching or listening, but we can never know for sure. Paul cautions us to be wise in the way we act toward outsiders. This is because, we are always being witnessed and thus we are always witnessing.
When we can impart wisdom and encouragement always, no matter who is hearing, we have a better chance of being fruitful for Christ because we are speaking not only what others want to hear, but what they need to hear. If we say we are a Christian, but are known for always being argumentative and difficult, we make our own job harder. Jim Daley, the president of Focus On The Family, is fond of saying, “I’ve never met someone who said, I was attracted to Jesus because us how much His followers like to argue and prove that they are right.” I think that most of us would agree that we were attracted to Christ, not by being bullied, but by His love, through others.
Have you ever owned a dog that, as soon as you put it on a leash, it would just pull and tug for all it was worth to try to regain its freedom? That is what our tongues are like. They are always straining to get free and let fly. As with a dog, we need to show our tongues who is boss and keep it on its leash. You just don’t know what damage it will do when you let down your guard.
Paul gives really good guidance today to help us accomplish this goal. “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
One more note, did you notice Paul’s comment about “do not grieve the Holy Spirit?” It is said in the context of angry arguments. So, I think the best insight into what this means is to just think of how you feel when your own children are arguing amongst each other. It doesn’t make you happy. It grieves you doesn’t it?
Prayer: Lord, today I need your help to guard my heart and my lips so not that I do not let any unwholesome talk come out of my mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. I love you Lord and I want to please you and not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, who lives within me, feeling everything I feel, trying to be a positive influence against my negative impulses. I am grateful to know that I am sealed for the day of redemption by the Spirit. So, help me get rid of all bitterness, and make sure that I never express rage or anger, especially not brawling or slander, or any form of malice. I am determined to be kind and compassionate toward others, forgiving, just as in Christ, You, Oh God, forgave me. Thanks for that. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: I Love You Lord
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. ~Ephesians 4:29-32
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. ~Colossians 4:5-6
I remember hearing a friend give a devotional on Psalm 139 once. When she got to verse 4 which says: “You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O Lord.” Her comment was something to the effect of, “If He knows what I’m going to say, so often, I wish He’d have stopped me!” I’m pretty sure we can all relate to feeling that way from time to time. Our tongue does appear to be one of the ten, reoccurring themes of Proverbs. I guess that Solomon, through the Lord’s wisdom, realized that we need a lot of reminding and instruction for taming the little rascal.
I think that, for our purposes, we are dealing here mostly with another third and fourth soil discussion. Yes, there are those who are mean and can use their words to really be hurtful. I don’t believe that there is anyone of that sort on this list though. I’ve said before that I believe that most of the people here are, or want to be, fourth soil people. Again, we are challenged with the question, “What is there for us to learn here?”
Would it be fair to say that all of us have our moments? We can all relate to the lament of my friend who wishes that God would stop her before she speaks. There are those moments when we are unkind, speak out of anger, gossip, or criticize and become discouraging. It usually happens when we let our emotions get the best of us and give in to a sinful impulse before we think, or else we have decided that we’d rather vent than practice control.
When that happens, most of us, like my friend, regret the incident. This only reinforces Peter’s admonition that we must always be on the alert. We should never let our guard down in how we act or what we say. This is because we have no idea the repercussions. We may think we know who is watching or listening, but we can never know for sure. Paul cautions us to be wise in the way we act toward outsiders. This is because, we are always being witnessed and thus we are always witnessing.
When we can impart wisdom and encouragement always, no matter who is hearing, we have a better chance of being fruitful for Christ because we are speaking not only what others want to hear, but what they need to hear. If we say we are a Christian, but are known for always being argumentative and difficult, we make our own job harder. Jim Daley, the president of Focus On The Family, is fond of saying, “I’ve never met someone who said, I was attracted to Jesus because us how much His followers like to argue and prove that they are right.” I think that most of us would agree that we were attracted to Christ, not by being bullied, but by His love, through others.
Have you ever owned a dog that, as soon as you put it on a leash, it would just pull and tug for all it was worth to try to regain its freedom? That is what our tongues are like. They are always straining to get free and let fly. As with a dog, we need to show our tongues who is boss and keep it on its leash. You just don’t know what damage it will do when you let down your guard.
Paul gives really good guidance today to help us accomplish this goal. “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
One more note, did you notice Paul’s comment about “do not grieve the Holy Spirit?” It is said in the context of angry arguments. So, I think the best insight into what this means is to just think of how you feel when your own children are arguing amongst each other. It doesn’t make you happy. It grieves you doesn’t it?
Prayer: Lord, today I need your help to guard my heart and my lips so not that I do not let any unwholesome talk come out of my mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. I love you Lord and I want to please you and not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, who lives within me, feeling everything I feel, trying to be a positive influence against my negative impulses. I am grateful to know that I am sealed for the day of redemption by the Spirit. So, help me get rid of all bitterness, and make sure that I never express rage or anger, especially not brawling or slander, or any form of malice. I am determined to be kind and compassionate toward others, forgiving, just as in Christ, You, Oh God, forgave me. Thanks for that. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: I Love You Lord
Comments
Post a Comment