|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
We are relational, created with the ability to talk, and our conversations both reveal and form our character. We become what we talk about! Below are three Cs to avoid while conversing with one another.
Condemnation. . .
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1, ESV).
The Greek word for condemnation means to “look down upon.” Obviously, condemnation has no place within edifying conversations. There are three ways to “look down upon” — when we condemn others, condemn ourselves, or allow others to condemn us.
Too easily, we self-condemn our peculiarities, and it is a double whammy when others, noticing our inadequacies, join the fray in condemning us, too. Or, perhaps we specialize in witty but degrading comments about others.
Let’s walk away from looking down on ourselves and others.
Confusion. . .
For God is not a God of confusion but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33).
The Greek word for “confusion” can also be translated as “disorder,” “instability,” or “chaos.”
God works through peace, not confusion, which means that our spirit should follow the path of peace and avoid unstable situations. I believe some people use confusion to control, constantly creating disorder, from which to assert themselves.
Let’s ask ourselves, “Do I have peace from talking to this person?” or “Why do our board meetings often devolve into chaos?”
The evil one promotes confusion through negativity. I can discern a person’s conversational bent by their first words when I meet them. Do they open with negativity, criticism, or an off-putting comment?
Corrupting Talk. . .
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths (Ephesians 4:29).
The word in the New Testament for “corruption” can also be translated as “rotten.”
Rotten eggs stink, and there can be a foul odor, in a spiritual sense, with our conversations too — not just profanity but unwholesome undertones of sensuality. Locker room and drunken bar-side words can be subtle or blatantly risqué, but they soil the soul. And music, with corrupting lyrics, tempts our soul to consider or indulge the flesh.
With condemnation, confusion, and corrupting talk, simply refuse to participate.
A better approach to great conversations would be following the advice of the Apostle Paul. . .
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person (Colossians 4:6).
A pastor once told me, “We all walk in the flesh, and the flesh doesn’t prepare us for edifying conversations. The difference between the flesh and the Spirit is grace.”
Grace means God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense — gifts of words that edify based upon God’s loving reaction to our inadequacies — mirrored in our words towards others.