29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. 30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Controlling one’s words is one of the most difficult things for us mere humans. James spoke of this, “So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!” (James 3:5). So, even though we believers are indwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit, the difficulty of this must none-the-less be addressed directly. Paul presents a positive alternative to “unwholesome words.” We should focus the effort of our words on building up others as the need arises. “Edification” means to build up; such efforts are in short supply today. People hear enough things in this world that tear them down one way or the other.
What would our fellowship be like if each person was committed to using his words to build others up, rather than criticize, chastise or gossip. To be certain, there is a time for confronting or saying difficult things. But even those efforts should have the goal of ultimately building the other person, not destroy them: “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy” (Prov 27:6). This is grace.
To do this is tantamount to coming along side of the Holy Spirit, for it is His desire to build up the body, and in particular, to build up individuals in the body. Tearing down others through our careless or calculated, cutting words grieves the Spirit, because that effectively undermines His desire to unify us.
This is not a small or isolated problem for a few people. Scripture deals with this repeatedly. To the Pharisees and other religious leaders, for example, Jesus thundered, “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart” (Matt 12:34). It is a heart issue as much as a discipline issue. We guard our mouths as a way of confronting our hearts.
Later in this letter, Paul gives some specific examples of what to avoid in our conversations (Eph 5:4). For now, suffice it to say, we should avoid working against the Spirit’s work by bad-mouthing others. Let us keep our conversations positive and uplifting. Let us build up one another rather than tearing each other down.
Lord, thank You for securing me until my promotion to heaven. Until then I want to keep in step with Your Spirit and use my words to buildup others.
0 Comments