Let Us Be Careful How We Speak To Each Other
Colossians 4: 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. (NKJV)
Life is busy. Time is ever elusive
and is the one commodity we can never have enough of and always seem to be a
bit short of. Demands at work, at home, family, friends and ministry all pull at
us at the same time. Sometimes we can be pulled too much and be spread too
thin. Besides the time element, we can also come up against opposition in our
lives. Trials and hardships are to be expected in anyone's life and a Christian
has no exemption. Yet despite the demands on our time and the tribulation we
may face none of it should be an excuse for treating each other poorly. For
speaking down to one another. For being rude. Paul taught this to the church at
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. Ephesians 4: 29 (NKJV)
The New Living Translation says no foul or abusive language. Instead we should be seeking to build one another up. Mutual edification of the saints. By doing so, we impart grace to whoever might be listening and we often do not know who is listening. Fellow saints will be encouraged and edified to behave in a likewise manner and unbelievers will want that grace for themselves. The sad truth is that too often we confuse witnessing as an activity instead of a lifestyle. Our lives should be a constant witness to the lost. In how we live. In how we work. In how we speak.
I have begun to notice a downward shift in our communication toward each other. We are increasingly short with one another. Increasingly sarcastic or even caustic in our discourse. I have seen it in church and even in ministry. Remember what the Bible teaches about the tongue:
The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21 (NIV)
Every time we open our mouths to speak we have two choices. We can speak life or we can speak death. We can build someone up or we can tear someone down. We can be about hurting people or healing people:
The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Proverbs 12: 18 (NIV)
The wise will seek to bring healing with their words but the foolish will be reckless with their words and those words they speak will be like stabbing people with swords. What good is it to be religious yet not be about the business of Jesus? James addresses this plainly:
If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. James 1: 26 (NLT)
