The Words of Your Mouth

I had just visited a long-time member of the little church I pastored, and a few days later I was called to re-visit the family to make preparations for his funeral.  Whenever I meet with families and friends to prepare for a funeral, I hear wonderful stories about the person who has died.  Without having to ask very many questions, I quickly learn what it was like to grow up with the person, how they met their spouse, their favorite hobby, and what they were like as a parent, along with a host of other details.    

I hear the funny stories that have been told and retold countless times at family gatherings.  And I start to see how God’s grace developed in the person’s life and led them to live the way they did.  But at some point, the inevitable stories pop up that I would not want to share from the pulpit; disappointments, failures to communicate what was really happening, and frustrations over choices with larger implications.

I always do my best to sit and listen patiently, knowing that it is important for the friends and family to experience their grief in different ways.  But when it comes time to craft the words that will be shared at the funeral, I do my best to include the truth about the person’s life, while emphasizing the details that help to build up the community of faith.

Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus about what it means to live in community, “Let no evil come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29)

As people of God, we need to be very careful about what we allow to come out of our mouth.  As my dear momma used to say, "If you don’t have nothing good to say, keep your mouth shut"!  Words spoken out of our mouth are very important for the simple fact that they speak what is in our hearts.   

In Luke 6:45  we are told, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”

We tend to emphasize and remember our problems, but as Christians we are called to speak in a way that benefits the people around us.  In our everyday lives we have opportunities to share kind words toward others such as complimenting their work or affirming their character.  Whatever we can do to live in such a way that we build others up, rather than breaking them down, will allow us to fully live into God’s kingdom.

Is God receiving glory from the words that you speak out of your mouth?  There are two types of people. Those that are wise and those that are foolish.  Where do you place yourself?  Among the wise or the foolish? 

Which one of these does the words of your mouth produce?

 

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