“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
- Think back on your conversations from yesterday. When you think of your recent speech, how many of your words were uplifting and how many of them were corrupt? Were they positive or negative? Did they build up others are tear them down? Did they exhibit love for others or judgement? Could others see that the love of God was in your heart by the words you spoke, or did you grieve the Holy Spirit? My telling of someone else’s shortcomings to you will not build you or them up. If I try to justify my feelings by talking negative about someone else, who am I building up? Of what benefit is that to you? We often try to justify our words when we have no justification for them. If we live by the second part of this verse and only say what builds others up and gives grace to those who hear, we will have no need to defend our words. May our love for others overcome our pride and arrogance. We must harness our words and check our motives on every conversation and each comment. Be intentional today and decide at this very moment how you will speak to and about others.
- Is your speech uplifting in God’s eyes?
- What percentage of your words bring grace to those who hear them?
- Will God be glorified by what you are about to say?
- Do the negative words that come from your mouth contradict the Godly witness you attempt to be?
- What If this verse came to mind before words came out of our mouths? How much could we change the attitudes and feelings of those around us if we just obeyed these few words?
James 3:9-11 “With it (the tongue) we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?”
James 1:19-20 “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”
Matthew 12:34 “…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”