Let Your Words Be A Gift To The Hearer

Ephesians 4:29 & 5:4

Unnecessary Profanity Sucks Air Out of The Room; Give Those Who Hear You Clean Air To Breathe

Soul Food

Ephesians 4:29

“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 5:4

“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.”

Soul Search

• How often do you use profanity?
  If you do use it, can you remember when and how it started?

• Would you say that your use of profanity has become so ingrained in your vocabulary that you don’t even think about it?
  Do you think it defines you or ‘colors’ you to those around you in the way that you want it to?

• How does profanity affect you when others use it?
  Does it register with you at all or bother you in any way?
  Why or why not?

• If you have a child, does your child use profanity?
  Does it bother you when your child uses profanity and if so, why?
  If your child doesn’t use profanity, do you consider that a good thing?
  If so, why?

Soul Moves

• Start thinking about the way you speak – especially if you are one who uses profanity.
  Ask God to make you more conscious and aware of the words that come out of your mouth."

• Be considering and thinking about what Scripture says about profanity and ‘unclean’ words.
  Be prepared to have God’s Holy Spirit start troubling you over your unhealthy words."

• Ask God to help you stop unhealthy words before they come out of your mouth.
  Your mouth is the ‘voice’ of your heart.
  It reflects what is inside you.
  Ask God to clean your heart so that your mouth can also be clean.

• If there are those in your life who you have influence with, and they use profanity and pollute the air around them, consider speaking with them about it like my friend did with his daughter.
  God might just use you to be an important part of dealing with the air pollution around them so that everyone can breathe easier.