Biblical Encouragement to use Wholesome Language
Biblical
Encouragement for: Wholesome Language
It is quite common in our society to
hear a wide variety of words that seem very harsh and inappropriate. Sometimes the language is often accompanied
by a high sense of emotion. Sometimes
the language is clear evidence of impatience and anger of the speaker.
When we become Christians, the Lord begins
to change us from the inside, little by little.
One of the things that He often begins with, is our language. Does the Bible say anything about our use of
language? Does it matter what comes out
of our mouth? That is the subject of this
paper.
Let’s look at a few
verses in the Bible that talk about our use of language.
Matthew 12:34
“Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth
speaks.”
Your speech can say a lot about what is in your heart. Maybe your language is an indication that the Lord is not in as much control, as you think?
Ephesians 4:29
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your
mouth.”
I guess that we have the phrase “If you don’t have something good to say, then don’t say anything.” I guess that applies from time to time, but if you can say something that is beneficial and uplifting to others instead, then that would be even better. Other translations of the word for “unwholesome”, are filthy, corrupt, evil, harmful, bad, anything that would hurt another person.
Ephesians 5:4
“Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse
joking, which are out of place.”
2 Corinthians
12:20 “Outbursts of anger.”
Uncontrolled anger can be the devil’s tool for uncontrolled speech. We are called to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit of God, not the fruit of self.
Exodus 20:7
“Do not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”
Using God’s name to pass judgment on anything, or as part of an angry speech is a violation of the Commandment.
Romans 12:14
“Bless those that curse you.”
Here we are told to bless and NOT curse. And to respond kindly to those who curse at us.
Matthew 15:11, 19 “Not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defiles a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Colossians
3:8-10
“But now, also
put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of
your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old
man with his deeds;
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
This is a clear verse that “filthy communication” is definitely part of the old man, not the new.
Matthew 5:37 “But let your word be, Yes, yes; No, no. For whatever is more than these comes from evil.”
Matthew 12:35, 36 “A good man out of the good treasure of
the heart brings out good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure
brings out evil things. But I say to you that every idle word, whatever
men may speak, they shall give an account of it in the day of judgment.”
Isn’t this a sobering statement, that we will give an account of every word that we speak! Would you be embarrassed to talk like that in front of the Lord?
Psalms 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Jehovah, my Rock, and my Redeemer.”
James 1:26, 27 “If anyone thinks to be religious among
you, yet does not
bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is vain. “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit
orphans and widows in their afflictions, and to keep oneself unspotted from the
world.
Here, the word of God connects being religious, with how you speak. Does your language reflect your new life or more of the type of language that the world uses?
James 3:10 “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.”
Proverbs 4:24 “Put away from you crooked speech and put devious talk far from you.”
Hosea 4:2 “There is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.”
James 1:19 “Therefore, my beloved brothers, let
every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”
If we slow down and not allow our emotions to affect our speech, we may be more likely to speak more graciously.
Proverbs 15:1 “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Psalms 19:
14 “May the words from my mouth and the thoughts from
my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my defender.”
I think that this is a great verse to end
on. Please make it your prayer to you
use your life and your words to honor God.
I used heavy profanity before I became a
Christian in July of 1976. Very soon
after I invited the Lord into my life, He began to impress upon me to not
use profanity. I know that it can be
tempting to use cuss words to quickly try and sum up how you are feeling, but I
think that swear words add a level of stress and insult to the
conversation. I have asked the Lord to help
me to be patient and take the time to express myself in a normal way without
having to resort to profanity. You may
think that NOT using cuss words to express yourself is too hard to do, but I
just finished a ten-and-a-half-year stint at a company that was highly stressful
and frustrating and everyone around me used tons of cuss words in their daily
conversation. With the Lord helping me,
I never spoke one word that could be construed as profanity during that time. That was a testimony to the fact that if you
ask the Lord to help you apply the verses above in your life – He will do
it. You just have to be a willing
vessel! There are a number of areas of
life where I may not be the best example of how to apply the Bible to your
life, but this is one area that I have shown some growth. Please join me in this journey and let's try and reduce the stress and negative emotion that is caused when people use unwholesome language.
Written by Lee Malden 2021
For more information: email lmalden@hotmail.com
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