Words and Holy Spirit

Ephesians 4:29-31

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?

Harold's Musings:
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.

Anger and Satan's Opportunities

Ephes. 4:26-27

26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil.

Ephes. 4:31-32

31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

• Why do you think God made us with the capacity for anger?
• How does anger give the devil opportunity?
• Why does God want things resolved quickly?
• What other "wrongs" does your anger hang out with?
• How can you be tender-hearted and forgiving along with being angry?
• Why is it easier to get (and stay) mad than to resolve and forgive?
• How do you feel about facing the anger of God?

Harold's Musings:
It has been said that there is little that God created that Satan cannot distort for his schemes. If you think about it, it is sort of intimidating. Food, sex, anger, love, grace, and the list goes on. All of them have been used by Satan in his plans. Anger has the potential to be one of the most dangerous. Murder, domestic violence, child and animal abuse, gossip, slander, factions, and the list goes on. When Satan uses food against me, the hurt is generally limited to me. When he uses anger, others suffer and those hurts are usually slow to heal. Remember: Satan is out to take you down, roaming around looking. You have Jesus on your side. Anger will happen. Sin from the anger does not have to happen.

Work goes both ways

Eph. 6:5-9

5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

• How would you like to be a slave?
• How is rendering service to Christ different from rendering it to man?
• Why is doing good worthwhile?
• How are Christian employers supposed to treat their employees?
• How does your ability to choose where you will work affect your approach to your work?

Harold's Musings:
Like yesterday's post, the bulk of the passage is written to slaves. I cannot truly comprehend what it would be like to be a slave. No choice, no freedom, no hope. Yet, Paul tells slaves do their work for Jesus. He tells masters to not threaten their slaves because they have a Master as well. Since I am not a slave nor do I own anyone, I could blow past this verse, right? I am concerned that our ability to choose the everyday things of life diminishes our feeling of responsibility. How often have you heard, "well, I'll just quit"? Or "I'm thinking about finding a better job"? What is the motivation for leaving? What is the motivation for staying? Is your decision based on seeking to serve Jesus or is it just self-serving?