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. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:29-32
Meditation: Men, we too often speak harshly to our wives and our children. And at times, we are harsh to people serving us – cashiers, waiters, etc. They don’t meet our expectations and we let them have it. We may react out of bitterness over the way our father, mother or some other person in the past treated us or we simply tend to be mean and hurtful. We speak hurtful words and then don’t even go back and fix it. Brothers, this shouldn’t be so! The Bible teaches us to be kind, compassionate and forgiving. We need to have patience and love for those we come in contact with, especially our wives and children. We are to build them up according to their needs not belittle them and put them down.
Unwholesome is defined as unhealthy or detrimental to morality. The Greek word saprós can also be translated corrupt, meaning rotten or worthless. Hurtful words are rotten, worthless and unhealthy. Unwholesome talk is anything that would tear another person down or criticize their person or character. Any man who uses such words grieves the Holy Spirit of God and the man who puts his wife down is not the husband God wants him to be. Ephesians 5:26 tells us that we are to make our wives holy, cleansing her by the washing of water through the Word. The Word of God and our words should be used to build her up and edify her, not tear her down. We need to get rid of bitterness, anger and malice and treat our wives, children and others with respect and dignity as God’s children. When we tear down another person, we are in reality, telling God His creation is not good enough for us.
Challenge: Do you build others up with kind and compassionate words? Or do you tear them down with cutting, hurtful and unwholesome talk? Out of your mouth, your heart speaks (Matthew 15:18-20). If you say you have a heart for God, does your speech reflect that? Do you encourage and build up your wife and children? Or are you harsh and mean to them? Stop grieving the Holy Spirit and be kind, compassionate and forgiving.
Thought for the Day: Lord, help me to be kind and compassionate today, building others up and encouraging them.
Chris Garner
Used by permission – Fortified Marriages.