Text- Psalm 34:13- “Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile”
Happy New Month Beloved! Welcome to the month of March. As we progress in this year, I want to bring your attention to one area where many, especially youths, are very loose these days – The use of bad language.
Bad language includes such things as: swearing, cursing, profanity and vulgar words just to mention a few. The use of bad language is a habit that is very easy to pick up, and very difficult to break; it clings closer than any other bad habit, and is scarcely ever wholly laid aside. No wonder, the Apostle, James, said, "If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body"
A lot of people these days think it’s kind of “cool” and modern to use bad language; they make those who refrain from bad language look like prudes and ‘old-schools’. On the contrary, the use of bad words doesn’t sound as cool as they make it look.
A psychologist, Dr. Alex Packer, wrote in his book, “How Rude!” that a vocabulary filled with bad language doesn’t allow for the expression of much insight, wit, intelligence, or empathy. He affirmed, “If your speech is lazy, vague, and unimaginative, your mind is sure to follow.” I guess that isn’t so cool after all.
You see, the major issue with bad language is that they are not just mere words. Jesus said in Matthew 15:18 that the things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart; and they defile a man. So at the core of bad language, is a heart problem – When you curse someone, or when you use abusive words, swear-words, and vulgar language, it shows that something’s not quite right in your heart.
As John Gill wrote in his commentary, “A corrupt heart is the fountain from whence all moral defilement flows; and sinful words and actions are the impure streams, which spring from thence, and increase the moral pollution of human nature.”
Beloved, as you go about your daily life, Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only those things which are helpful and edifying; let each word that comes out of your mouth be a gift to your hearers. (Ephesians 4:29).
One way to purify your language is to pay more attention to your words, and try as much as possible to evaluate them before speaking out. In other words, think before you talk, not the other way round.
Also, stay away from the kinds of entertainment (music, movies, T.V programs, etc.) and people that flood your ears with bad language. Remember, evil communication corrupts good manners ( 1 Corinthians 15:33).
Finally, be bold and proud to speak maturely and responsibly. Don’t be pressured to speak like the world in order to impress anybody or to avoid looking weird… You are not weird, they are! So, don’t lower your standards to accommodate them.
PRAYERS
1. Lord, I repent from the use of bad language today. I ask that you forgive me for all the times I have spoken carelessly and irresponsibly.
2. Lord, grant me the grace to keep my tongue from evil, and my lips from speaking guile.
3. Lord, help me to purify my language, and teach me to say only those things which are helpful and edifying.
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