29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
- How might your talk corrupt someone?
- How might your talk build someone up?
- What do you do to determine what is best said for the occasion?
- When have you known that your words gave grace to someone?
- Why would the Holy Spirit grieve regarding your words?
I think I was raised with the view that corrupting someone dealt with drugs, sex, and illegal activities. While those things are obviously not excluded, the context here seems to address something deeper and less obvious. Bitter angry words corrupt relationships. Slander corrupts how people view the object of slander. If you as a Christian exhibit careless speech, it is an example to others. The most troubling part of this passage is that the Holy Spirit can be grieved by our words. He is in the fellow Christian you just slandered. He heard the corrupting words hit like bullets. He likely feels the hurt, anger, and resentment the words produced. All because you and I are careless, shooting from the lip. It is much easier to speak without thinking that to consider what should be said to build up the other person. Watch those lips out there today. Aim carefully. The Holy Spirit could get hurt.
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