By Lisa Wilmore
Scripture: 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 (Ephesian 5: 29 NIV).
Let us pray: “Lord, speak to our hearts today. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
My Christian Friends,
If we are not careful and do not guard our intake of others’ ideas and feelings, we will stumble and be in a place where God is not pleased. Have you ever encountered persons who are never satisfied and always complain about everything? In fact, when they converse with you, they combat every positive thing you say with a negative comment. This type of conversation will drain your thinking and if you are not careful, these words of corrupt communication will infiltrate your heart. Consequently, we know what happens when the heart has been infiltrated with contaminated seeds. These seeds, ultimately, will produce bad attitudes, anger, malice, revenge and even bad language. Therefore, how do we deal with unwholesome (unhealthy) communication that proceeds out of the mouths of Christians and people in general?
Some persons may declare that they stay away from negative people and negative communications. But what happens when they work along side of you on your job? What happens when the negative people are in your churches? Will you leave your job or your church? In most cases, no, you will not leave your place of employment or your place of worship. Even if you choose to leave and go some other place, some of the same attitudes are in the new places. It is definitely an option but moving does not fix the problem.
In Ephesians 5, Paul speaks specifically to the believers that corrupt communication should not come out of “your” mouth. In essence, we are responsible for what comes from our mouths. Just because an individual has made the choice to “spill out” unhealthy communication, this does not mean that you must do the same.
Christians have the Spirit of God which warns us against corrupt communication, meanness, bitterness, etc. So, what we must not do is, “grieve” Him. “His power works in us in order to transform us which proves to the world that we are His children.
So, when dealing with unhealthy communication, we must seek to understand the person’s hurt and disappointment, be an encourager, deal with our own anger immediately so that we are able to edify others while building relationships and not destroying them.
It is certain that unwholesome communications will come out of persons’ mouths; however, do not let it come from us
