Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. (Ephesians 4:29)
What’s that you’re saying? Why are you saying that for? Let every word that comes from your mouth – whether stern or pleasant – be a precious gift building the listener in their journey of life from a heart of compassion and gratitude. And let every word you remember today be something that helps you in your time of your need and builds you up to become all you can become.
Swearing has always been a big no-no in my upbringing, but as I grew to appreciate words like this, I realised that it had a lot more to do with the intent of the words you speak rather than their content. They are known as expletives and obscenities because there’s nothing in and of themselves that is redeemable and indeed they are used for vulgar, degrading, aggressive, negative and destructive purposes. Under this criterion there’s quite a lot that we say that can be considered an obscenity or expletive without invoking those key trigger words. The challenge then is not to be concerned with content primarily but heart motive – what are we conveying? Why are we conveying it? What is the desired outcome?
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
da man cd
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