Ephesians 4:29 (NLT)
Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you
say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those
who hear them.
When you think of “foul or abusive language” what comes
to mind? What comes to my mind are curse
words and calling people names. One publication reported that 10 words
account for 80% of public foul language, that on average 80-90 words spoken
each day are “swear words” and that foul language is associated with hostility.[1] While many reading this never speak a profane
word, others speak foul/abusive words far too frequently.
If every word you spoke during a day or a week could be
recorded and reviewed, what percentage of your words would be foul or abusive
versus words of encouragement to others?
You might be surprised. The Greek word that is translated “foul or
abusive” is the word “sapros” that means “corrupt” or “rotten”. This word “sapros” is used several times in
the gospels referring to worthless trees that produce bad fruit (e.g. Matthew
7:17-18, Luke 6:43, Matthew 12:33). Such
words are not only foul language words, but also any word that does not build
up another person, especially another believer.
So when you call someone any kind of derogatory name, you are using
“sapros” language. Remember, Jesus in
Matthew 5:22 said that calling a brother a fool makes you “guilty enough to go
into the hell of fire”. The language you
use is serious business in the eyes of the Lord.
Instead, you are to speak words that are good, helpful,
and encouraging. What do these words do
to those who hear them? Mother Teresa
said that “kind words can be short and easy, but their echoes are truly
endless”.
Think of examples and the people in those examples who
either encouraged or discouraged you with their words. Both can make a world of difference to you,
one in a very positive way; the other in a very negative way. Proverbs 15:4 summarizes the effects of both
encouraging and discouraging words---“A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but
perversion in it crushes the spirit”.
Why not become a person who speaks words of
encouragement to others? Wouldn’t you
love to be described as a person who almost always has a fitting word for
another and has the ability to say the right thing at the right time (Proverbs
15:23)? Jesus said that what you say
comes from what you think and what is in your heart. A mind and heart saturated with the word of
God will result in a person who will speak words of encouragement to others and
make a huge difference in hundreds, even thousands of lives. May you be this kind of person.
“The
people who are lifting the world onward and upward are those who encourage more
than they criticize.” –- Elizabeth Harrison
[1] Timothy Jay, “The
Utility and Ubiquity of Taboo Words”, Perspectives on Psychological Science,
March, 2009,153-161, http://pps.sagepub.com.demo.oonair.net/content/4/2.author-index
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