GIFTS

When Fiver and I were returning home from our morning walk between thunderstorms today, we came upon a backyard that faces the golf course where there were a bunch of little kids playing on an enclosed trampoline.  Amidst the laughter and loud talking, one girl suddenly started screaming when another playmate stopped her from going to where she wanted to go against the wall of the trampoline.  As we neared them, I looked down at Fiver with a smirk and told him how Piper would never allow our kids to scream unless it was a real emergency.  I was also a little taken back as there was no adult in the yard… nor did one come out of the house when the child screamed.

That observance once again, kicked me back into memory mode and I thought of how Piper would have probably been out there supervising the children… and then I couldn’t help but to laugh as I confided in the dog saying… “Hah!  She not only would have been out there, but jumping on the trampoline as well!”

As the dog and I walked by, all of the kids took turns yelling out “Hello” to us and asking us how we were doing!  So, I yelled back my answers and then, one by one, each child excitedly exclaimed that they either liked my dog or that I had a good-looking dog!  That also made me smile and I thanked them all… I even think that I saw a smile on Fiver’s face!  He definitely had a noticeable high-step to his gait for the remainder of our journey home!

The kid’s conversations got me thinking some more about the book of Ephesians where the Apostle Paul made many interesting comments to the church that was located in the very worldly port city of Ephesus.  I have many times heard comparisons of the city of Ephesus to that of San Francisco, California.  The growing congregation in Ephesus was struggling as they dealt with some of the wrong practices going on in the city and the seasoned Apostle gave the church much needed encouragement and practical instruction in his letter to them.  In Ephesians 4:29 he declared,

“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister GRACE unto the hearers.”  (KJV) 

We talked in our last blog post* about the importance of the words that we speak and in particular, of the need to speak words that are in agreement with the Word of God as found in our Bibles.  As I continued to study from this verse, previous to Fiver’s and my morning walk today, I immediately took note of the very first word in this verse: “Let.”  Dictionary.com defines “Let” as “to allow or permit.”  So, from the very git-go of his statement, Paul is making the point that the successful application of this verse is all dependent on whether we (as the speaker) choose to “allow” or “permit” certain words to proceed from out of our mouths.

Hummm… so before we open our mouths… we have a decision to make.

The word “proceed” coincides with the decision as to what we LET out of our mouths.  In the Greek it means to “depart, to be discharged, to flow (like that of a river) and to be spread abroad.”  In my simple way of thinking… that means that once we say something… those words will flow like a river and are permanently out there in the open for anyone and everyone to hear… and there is no taking them back.

Think about the many accusations that were falsely leveled at our previous President.  Once the statements were made public it went out through the news cycles and many people believed the words to be true… and even though most of those words have now been proven to be wrong… the original speaking of the words did its irreparable damage and the truth that finally came out couldn’t change the destruction of character and the physical results that ensued.

Lastly is the very common word that is used throughout the New Testament: GRACE.  In this verse, Paul teaches us to speak words that will minister GRACE unto the ones that we are speaking to.  The Greek describes the action of “GRACE” as something that is full of “graciousness, gratifying, joy, liberating, and pleasurable.”**  Thayer’s Greek Definitions tells us that words of GRACE should be “that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness and favor.”

During Piper’s illness we received an abundance of loving and encouraging words of GRACE that were most comforting and supportive to us… but we also received a few that were far from being LIBERATING or sent forth to produce JOY in us.  There were also a few spoken that made it crystal clear that I no longer had FAVOR with them.

Experiences like those have helped me in a positive way, so that I now strive… more than ever… to STOP, THINK and PRAY before I engage my mouth… Today, I STRONGLY desire… as much as possible… to only speak words that will minister GRACE unto those that I am communicating with.

How about you?  How do the words that you communicate to others stack up in the face of Paul’s definitions of LET, PROCEED, and GRACE?  The modern language used in The Passion Translation eloquently describes this by encouraging us to “let your words become beautiful GIFTS that encourage others.”

That most definitely makes me think twice before I allow words to flow out of my mouth… I want my spoken words to go forth and be received as beautiful GIFTS that I am giving someone… How about you?

 

*http://pjberruto.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-importance-of-words.html

**Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries