"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen" - Ephesians 4: 29 (NIV).
The Apostle Paul wrote his letter to the believers in the city of Ephesus with a view to help them mature in Christ. He dwells on personal relations among members and points out that there talk should be positive, emphasising the point of "building each other up"!
Anyone of us might have come across someone easily given to negative talk. Or let's call it care less talk whose aim is nothing but to pull others down. The person who engages in such talk might have personal issues frustrating him. However, rather than deal with those issues, projects that bitterness on to others.
No one, if any, enjoys visiting someone who specialises in negative talk, except the one who is equally frustrated and perhaps might take comfort when he is not the target. There are negative talkers who have nothing good to say about anyone- aside from themselves! But be aware and do not fall under that guise as they pile abuse on someone else. The day you upset them, or even just disappear from their view for a period, then you are easily the next choice of attack.
There is little you can learn from negative talkers other than sucking you into their poison. This is why Paul felt it important to urge believers that when we meet we should all focus on talk that builds each other up than puts others down. It is that talk which then sparks our energy to do good, serving and extending the kingdom of God!
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, today I pray that my tongue may be uplifting of others and not pull others down, this I pray in Jesus's name.
Related upcoming events
-
28/04/2024 - 29/04/2024 All day"The Lord is my shepherd!" (Psalm 23:1)
Psalm 23 of David is perhaps one of the best prayers ever written, with nuggets and inspirations, of benefit to us since and
ever before. “The LORD is my shepherd, “David begins.” I lack nothing” (vv 1). What is it that you lack? In his life David had started out as a shepherd, and he knew very well, that a shepherd’s job is to watch over his sheep, feed and water them, and since the Lord is our shepherd, we his sheep shall lack nothing.Verse 2 -3 says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” This exactly what a good shepherd does; he takes his sheep to the best fodder, ensuring that his sheep are well fed and rested. When the sheep are restless the good shepherd is troubled. Our God desires and is pleased when we are at peace.
Sometimes we may all find ourselves going through a storm. In Verse 4- 5, David says, "Even though I walk through the darkest valley I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” The Christian life is not without difficulties, but here David points us to God as our comforter and deliverer. We always have the staff of prayer to lean on.
In Verse 5, he writes, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” In his tumultuous life, David had to battle with many enemies, ranging from King Saul, to foreigners and members of his own family. He knew a lot about betrayal. And, we too, may face enemies no less, from those that oppose us in our workplace for their ambition’s sake, to those who are not pleased because of the Gospel we preach. Yet here, just as David, we are assured that victory is on our side- this is why our cup overflows.
“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (vv 6). The one who walks with God has a fresh smile ever, for God is with him. The blessings of God are with him wherever he goes.
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham,
maker of heaven and earth, as David prayed in Psalm 23, may I not be troubled, for you are my shepherd ever watching over me and your goodness goes ahead of me!
