EPHESIANS 4:29 - SPEAK GRACIOUSLY

May I Speak Graciously

May my words give grace to those who hear.

May they fall as a gift upon their ears.

Let me refrain from unwholesome speech

And speak only the words that will help me reach

The forgiven people Jesus Christ holds dear.

“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth,

but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment,

 that it may give grace to those who hear.”

Ephesians 4:29 (NAS)

saprŏs⁴⁵⁵⁰ – rotten, i.e. worthless (lit. or mor.): - bad, corrupt.

charis⁵⁴⁸⁵  – graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstr. or concr.’ Lit., fig. or spiritual: espec. The divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude): acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace(ious), joy, liberality, pleasure, thank(-s, -worthy).

            “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” WRONG! Words can and do hurt. Some words leave emotional scars that last a lifetime. And the hard truth is once words leave your mouth, you cannot suck them back in. They have sunk deep into their target, and like poisoned darts may cause a festering wound inside their victim. James wrote, “…but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8).

            Unwholesome words are going to pop into our minds when we are angry, hurt, or disappointed; but we do not have to release the venomous words that boil up in our thoughts. With the grace of God, we can choose to hold our tongues. That brings up another mental picture. In chapel at Glenview Christian School the children used to sing a song about keeping your tongues from evil and your lips from speaking lies (I Peter 3:10). Then they would attempt sing it while literally holding their tongues. Pretty hard to do, and I shutter to think that sometimes after that exercise the worship leader would have them hold hands on a different song, a germ nightmare!

            I cannot literally hold onto my tongue to keep from speaking harsh words, but I can do something that, at first, may be equally difficult. I can pause and offer a silent prayer that God will only allow those words out of my mouth that will benefit the hearer. Better yet, I can begin each morning with a prayer that the Lord will help me to think about my words and choose them carefully throughout the day.

            Lord, please help my words to be edifying to the hearer. Help me to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger (James 1:19); so that I can take time to choose my words with your glory and the benefit of the hearer in mind.