"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers." (v29)
Ephesians 4:25-32. NKJV
How often we grieve the Holy Spirit by our behaviour, especially by what comes out of our mouths. (v30). We are tempted to lie every now and again. We do this by way of exaggeration, painting things much bigger than they actually are. We add bits and take away other bits so that they fit into the story that we are telling, because it sounds better that way. We also become angry at certain times, where our mouths begin to rule and we end up saying words that we don't really mean, but once said, are impossible to erase. By not being in control of our anger, we fall straight into the trap that the devil has laid.
We confess with our mouths that we will never steal - we could never do that, and yet, many of us have pens, note pads, highlighters, elastic bands and staples that we have taken home, and we justify this by saying that we may well be doing some work in our own time, so that we can catch up with things. But really, they're not ours.
But the biggest area of grieving the Holy Spirit, is in the words that we speak out. We're tempted to tell a joke, one that is quite unsavoury and contains swear words. We may feel that we need to fit in with our colleagues or neighbours but actually wouldn't it be better making a stand and showing them Jesus by setting ourselves apart? Our words and behaviour don't have to be 'religious', we don't want that type of reputation, but if we are letting them know that we are Christian, then they need to see this, otherwise they may form the opinion that we are a hypocrite.
Let's do a little self-analysis; ask yourself, 'Do my words build people up?' 'Do they edify myself?' 'By my words, can people see that I'm different, that Jesus lives in me?' Wherever we are and whatever we do, let us always attempt to impart grace to people through our words and how we live our lives. And above all else, let us always be careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit. He is gentle and loving; peaceful and helpful; but He's also delicate and we can easily grieve Him by our attitude, our words or things that we do.
Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard
No comments:
Post a Comment
Leave a message