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.
How hard is that to do? How hard is it to curb your tongue when others are talking harshly about someone or something and you are in complete agreement?
But we are supposed to hold our tongues. We are supposed to make sure that what we say builds up and does not destroy. We are supposed to refrain from speaking ill of others and spewing "unwholesome" talk.
"Unwholesome" is a word that we don't hear or use much. Perhaps it is out of style. Perhaps we don't like what it means. I looked it up on dictionary.com. Seems it means unhealthy, noxious, morally harmful or depraved. We need to make sure what comes out of our mouths is not unhealthy, noxious, morally harmful. Boy, that is a lot of stuff we can't say! We can't say anything, true or untrue, about someone or something that could be harmful to their (or other listener's) reputation or thought processes. We can't help spread gossip...and that would include listening because by lending an ear, we are allowing the speaker to use unwholesome talk!
We have a lot of responsibility as believers in Jesus. We need to glean tidbits of that responsibility from all parts of the Bible. Then we need to do what we can to act on those responsibilities. For the ones we struggle with, we need to turn to the Holy Spirit who wants us to succeed so that others will succeed.....notice the verse ends with "that it may benefit those who listen". This whole obedience thing isn't limited to our success or failure, but for the benefit of others. We have that responsibility. We should take it seriously.
Help me, Father, to refrain from unwholesome talk. May my words and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to You. Amen
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