Ephesians 4:29
When I was a little child I can recall how often my father would instruct me to think before I speak… Even though I never really paid his instruction in mind, today I have come to know and understand what exactly he meant… Words are powerful, the things that we speak can produce seeds of abundance or failure in one’s life; this is why James writes in the 3rd chapter of his book of the importance in taming our tongue… In this chapter he says, “For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. ...”Your tongue has the ability to transforms lives or tear them down, your tongue has the ability to reap corruption or alter the atmosphere; because of the power that lies in it’s use, we are reminded today that we must not let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouth… When I read this passage there are two points that jump out to me; either you think before you speak or you need to just learn to shut up… Through today’s devotion we learn the importance of control our tempers and not allowing any crack or crevice to be created so that the enemy can manipulate his way into our lives and situations through a bit of anger within us…
There are many verses in the bible that deal with anger; however, to become angry is not a sin… Proverbs 29:11 says, “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.” You can and will become anger (even Jesus became anger), but the key is not allowing your anger to be vented and the easiest way to keep this from happening is controlling the things that come out of your mouth… Paul writes to the church of Ephesus today and instructs them about how to conduct themselves in their relationships with other people… All of us have a boiling point, a height of anger or rage in which we will lose our minds and be careless with the things that are spoken out of our mouths! Our patience’s has been pushed to the brink of the cliff and we just can’t bite our tongue any longer; we have tried to be kind but it just seems like different words must be used to address this person and resolve this conflict… Paul tells us today that we should not let any unwholesome talk come from our mouths; we should be about building each other up and not trying to tear each other down. When you speak to someone in love, this directly displays the love that lives inside of you; on the contrary, when you allow unwholesome talk to come from your mouth you really are putting forth a public display of how ugly you are inside… This is why Paul reminds the church that unwholesome talk is not acceptable… How can you lead someone to Christ if you are talking in a way that will allow their paths to be blurred…? How do you expect others to come to church and join in the fellowship when you run down all those people who you turn around and smile in the midst of…? The things that come out of you are the things that defile you, “What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.”
There are people who you are assigned to encounter on a daily basis and they cannot see Christ in you if profanity and unwholesome talk is coming out of you… This is the problem that has plagued the church for quite some time, we speak one thing and display another… Understand that you are called to a higher standard and that means that you must display yourself in a higher realm of Christ daily… This is why Paul goes on to say that only things that should come out of you are things that are helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen… When we engage in unwholesome talk, we are in essences placing ourselves on the same level of a fool. We are allowing Satan to corrupt our thoughts and distract us from bringing a positive spin on a negative point… People will always talk about you, they will always say things that you may not agree with or may be hurt by, but the ultimate sign of a true Christian is not your response in words to the accusations, but how you flip this trial so that God receives glory and honor. Isaiah 53:7 says,” He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” The bible says that when Jesus was on trial He remained silent, when people hurled insults He remained focus to the goal at hand and was able to not only complete His task but also bring glory to His father and become victorious… We don’t stoop to other peoples level because all it does it keeps us from reaching the level God wants us to get too… People are watching you, they are observing your walk and how you handle various situations, show them the God in you and the not the side of you that is still a work in progress… Bottom line, think before you speak and if that doesn’t work just shut up…
ALL FOR HIS GLORY!
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