“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is
good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers”.
A creative woman was trying to prepare her little boy for
school. She asked him to empty the toothpaste from the tube into a bowl, to
which he complied immediately. She then asked him to fill the paste back into
the tube. At this point the boy reacted, saying it was never going to sit well
in the tube like before. That gave the woman the opportunity to drive home the
point. She compared words to paste, and once they are out of the mouth can
never be retracted. This experiment reminds me of the interview clip of an
actress that I had watched. Asked what she would like to take off the social
media of all that she has said, she replied, “Everything”! Unfortunately for
her, things on the social media are there forever.
These two accounts bring us back to the power of the tongue.The tongue, though small, has capacity to destroy
great things. It is for this reason that extreme caution must be exercised when
we employ the tongue. The woman who conducted the experiment made it clear to her
son that his words would either destroy people’s self worth or build it; and
challenged him to use words in order to build up. This is the focus of our lead
scripture today. Writing to the Ephesians, Paul warned them against corrupt use
of words. Their focus must be how to edify people by what they say. The people
you meet are already struggling with issues that you may not know of. You will
not want to add to their burden by speaking unkindly. Choose to be selective
with your words; purpose that what you say will give a lift to someone’s
spirit. That is one way to become a merchant of hope in a despairing world.
Further Study: MATTHEW 12:33-37
Prayer: Take my tongue, dear Lord, and fill it with words of
life.
Source : Xt Gee
Source : Xt Gee
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