Wholesome Talk = Good Worship
“Well no duh, Sherlock!”
“You’re such a blonde sometimes!”
“Did you hear what she did? I canNOT believe she just did that!”
Do you ever find yourself saying things like this? If you’re like me and you have a little sassy streak that comes out sometimes, then you’ve DEFINITELY found yourself saying things like this. Most of the time we don’t even think anything of it! It’s normal. It’s expected even. “You sass me I’m gonna sass you back!” Right? But have you ever stopped and thought about what this type of language is actually saying?
Jump with me bit to this mini Story Time With Natalie. I’m a part of a women’s Bible study at my church and right now we’re learning about the Armor of God though a study by Priscilla Shirer. The other week we were on the Belt of Truth and we talked about how important it is for us to make sure that we are filling ourselves up with what is actually true. Satan (being the jerk that he is) tries to fill our heads with lies and the only way we can detect their falsity is if we actually know the truth! How good is that?! (If you want to know more about this Bible study, check it out!) But she didn’t stop with that awesome but broad statement. We all know the big truths like God loves you so much that He sent His Son, but there are so many smaller truths that we often times skip over completely. Wanna know what example she gave? Ephesians 4:29. “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
Remember all those sarcastic, sassy little remarks you find yourself (and me included) making? Yeah those are definitely considered “unwholesome.” Now when I heard her say this in the video lesson, I thought ‘hmm, that’s a good point, I should be nicer.’ But then I never did anything about it and moved on with life! But guess what? That wasn’t the end of this topic, NO WAY! Obviously it came up again or I wouldn’t be talking about it!
So I was reading in ‘Respectable Sins’ by Jerry Bridges (that book I’m reading for class) and chapter 19 was called ‘Sins of the Tongue’…CONNECTION! Unwholesome talk=sins of the tongue! This doesn’t just mean being rude or gossiping, it includes everything like “lying, slander, critical speech (even when true), harsh words, insults, sarcasm, and ridicule” (page 159). In this chapter, Jerry gave the practical answer to applying the specific truth that Priscilla mentioned! Isn’t it so cool when God lines things up to give you the answers and guidance you need?
Now as you read through that list of verbal sins, you might be thinking it all sounds a bit harsh, that you don’t do all of those things. But is that really true? I started out the chapter thinking that way but then as I kept going and each of them was explained, I started to go ‘ehhh wait a minute…’ (I made a face with it to but I won’t show you that haha) Take slander for example. That’s “making a false statement or misrepresentation about another person that defames or damages that person’s reputation” (page 160). But only the politicians do that right? WRONG! Every time we make a judgment about someone saying that their motives aren’t pure or they aren’t committed to the Lord because they aren’t doing this, that, and the other thing, or we only talk about their sins to the point where they appear way more sinful than they really are, that’s slander! We don’t know what’s truly going on in their hearts, so every judgment we make will to some extent be wrong and lead to slander.
This kind of language is NOT OK people! Ephesians 4:29 says so! One of Bridges’ practical solutions is to always ask yourself “Will what I’m about to say tend to tear down or build up the person I’m about to talk about?” (page 160) I LOVE THAT! We should be trying to build people up, not tear them down!
Here’s something cool, God wasn’t done bringing up this topic yet! I enjoy listening to podcasts and one of my favorites right now is the ‘Whoa That’s Good’ podcast by Sadie Robertson. (check it out!) Remember her from back when Duck Dynasty was a thing? Well she is one of my favorite people to follow right now because she is so full of wisdom and inspiration! In one of her episodes from last month she interviewed Annie F. Downs (another awesome person to pay attention to!) and in the podcast, they talked about friendship and being a good friend. One thing that Annie said that really stuck with me was this: “In friendship, you should be a house of prayer and a hospital.” (hear her say it now!) CONNECTION! We can’t be either of those things if we keep using unwholesome talk! Unwholesome talk accomplishes the exact opposite of what our goals in friendship should be.
So make Ephesians 4:29 your guiding principle. Are your words wholesome? Are they building up and encouraging? Will they be a benefit to those who hear them? I sure hope so!
Think how much stronger all our relationships would be if we were constantly encouraging each other and building them up with WHOLESOME talk! And not only that, but this comes back to my favorite theme again. Building people up and encouraging them is GOOD WORSHIP! Living by the truth God has set before us in His Word is GOOD WORSHIP!
WHOLESOME talk is GOOD WORSHIP!
