pramsay posted on May 02, 2006 04:13 1290 views

A senior citizen went to Bingo the first week after she trusted Christ. She was shocked to hear the swear words and the use of her Saviour’s name as a curse word. She had never noticed it before. What had happened? Had the language suddenly changed or had she changed? She had changed. That’s what conversion is! One of the signs of new life within – a sensitivity to sin. She decided – “No more bingo for me.” The girls sitting behind me at the skateboard park were using bad language. The skateboarder they were trying to impress came over to them and said: “Hey, go easy on the language!”

This morning I read: “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” (Eph 4:29) It does NOT say: “When you are around fellow believers, keep your language clean….” The Lord expects me to always use clean language. The verse has been paraphrased this way: “Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. “(Eph 4:29) Today our words do not just come out of our mouth – they come from our fingertips. Some christians speak more words with their fingertips at the keyboard in one night than they do orally the rest of the week. What does corrupt communication mean? Bad, shameful, filthy, foul, dirty, dark, off-colored, deceitful, inappropriate, etc. Would I feel comfortable if someone printed off my written communications for my parents or older christians to read? Would my choice of words be different if I was speaking to a spiritual christian?

Casual talk or writing is one thing. Instead of writing “Dear Michael” – you might say: “Hey there, Mike:” But casual talk is different than using crude, course, barnyard words to describe body parts or actions or to express frustration or anger. Casual talk is not slang either. Christians would never want to say “Jesus” or “God” in a moment of shock or frustration but should we pepper our conversations with: ‘jeesh’ or ‘gaad?’ We would never want to angrily shout: “Christ!” but when you jam your finger in the door is it okay to say: “Crispo christo!” Do you think we would feel comfortable using such terms in the presence of Christ? Words like butt, ass, etc. -ummm, I wonder if Timothy or Dorcas in the New Testament used such slang and course language to make their expressions more colorful? No.

But you say: “Hey come on, when the guys are together we understand each other and we can talk like that. We’re more careful around the girls and we wouldn’t talk like that in front of older christians.” I hear what you are saying, but how does it measure up to the standards of the Bible? In his Epistle, James writes about a mouth out of which proceeds blessing and cursing. He said: “This should not be.”

Have you read the list of banned activities and words in Ephesians 5: 3,4? It says: ‘let it not be once named among you’ or ‘there shouldn’t even be a hint of or a trace in our lives.’ The list includes: shameful talk, obscenities, filthy talk, silly talk and vulgar wit. Earlier in his letter, Paul had reminded them of what they have been saved from and saved for – an eternal inheritance and that they “are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works…” (Eph.2:10). To stoop down to the behaviour and talk of people in darkness was not appropriate back then and it still isn’t today.

Don’t try to use borderline language to fit in or to be accepted. Did you ever think that someone may notice your clean and decent language and begin their search for Christ as a result of hearing your choice of words in contrast to others? The people marveled at the gracious words that proceeded out of the mouth of the Lord Jesus. Our desire should be to emulate His talk, His vocabulary, and His words. Truthful, gracious, clean and acceptable words.

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