Ephesians 4:29 Our Mouths–Encourage, Not Discourage
“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” (ESV).
This is part four of a five-part series on the Christian lifestyle. This series was inspired by Dr David Jeremiah’s book, Belief That Behaves. The five parts of the series are entitled, Our Morality, Our Moods, Our Money, Our Mouths, and Our Manners.
The Word tells us what a powerful and dangerous weapon the mouth is. I believe that the mouth is like a grenade Once a hand grenade has exploded, it is impossible to put all the pieces back inside the grenade. All the small pieces of metal inside the grenade have been released with such a force that they tear through any flesh they encounter, making the grenade and grenade launcher the most lethal of the close contact weapons. Mayhem and chaos are the results of the explosion of a hand grenade. The same can be said of the mouth and the words it emits. Once they have been sent forth, they explode upon anyone and everyone who hears them. Hateful words can wound the one they are aimed at, but they are such that they also explode upon anyone near the intended target and can cause unease, concern, or even pain in them. Often the one who speaks the words is sorrowful for what he or she said, and has remorse, but it’s too late now. The words are out there for anyone to hear, and they cannot be stuffed back into the mouth; their effects are felt by all those who hear them.
Let me turn that last paragraph around by suggesting that words of praise, thankfulness, and blessing can also be spoken from the same mouth. Again, everyone who hears them, the one spoken to, bystanders, and the one speaking them is affected by the words. Words of blessing, thankfulness, and approval bring peace and joy to the hearers and the speakers. And when we speak words of praise and worship to our Lord, we include Him in the list of those blessed. So I suggest that we watch our words and do our best to send out grenades of blessing when we speak.
Two other important Scriptures come to mind: Proverbs 18:20,21; “From the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is satisfied by the yield of his lips. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (ESV), and Romans 10:9; “…because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (ESV). The first verse reminds us that we need to speak of God’s blessing, claim them, and the second verse focuses on the best thing ever to result from the words we speak, salvation. We have to speak the words of asking for forgiveness of sin, and we have to acknowledge that Jesus, the Son of God raised from the dead, is Lord in order to receive salvation. That’s the great eternal result of the words we speak, eternity in heaven with our Lord.
Be sure to come back tomorrow for the last in the five-part series, Our Manners