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by Dr. J. Allen Blair
A LITTLE GIRL asked a man to pick a flower for her, which he did. She looked at it, smelled it, handed it to the man and said, “ Now please put it back.” This was, of course, an impossibility. As the flower cannot be returned to its stem, neither can the spoken word ever be recalled to the lips. Words are dangerous. Once they wing their way, they are gone forever. You may be sorry and apologize for what you have said, but the damage is done. No wonder the Lord tells us in Prov erbs 21:23: “ Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.” What lamentable trou bles are wrought by an unruly tongue! It has been wisely said, “A loose tongue gets its owner into many a tight place.” In Ephesians 4:29 we read God’s Word on the vital subject of the believer’s speech. ‘Let no corrupt commu nication [worthless speech] proceed out o f your mouth, but that which is good to the use o f edifying [benefit ing], that it may minister grace [blessing] to the hear ers.” Here we see both the negative and the positive aspect of Christian speech. From the negative stand point, no “worthless speech” should come from our lips. Positively, our speech should be both a benefit and a blessing to our hearers. What does God mean by “worthless speech” ? It ap pears from the Bible He means three things: Indecent Speech, Deceiving Speech, and Slanderous Speech. Indecent Speech This has to do with the obscene and filthy stories heard so frequently around the office, in the shop, or in the school. It is the foul and coarse talk which comes from the lips of so many. Isaiah had been tainted by this heinous sin. He cried out to God: “ Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man o f unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5). The Lord gave Isaiah a complete victory and the once defiled lips were transformed to proclaim God’s message boldly. Not only should the believer in Christ desist from immoral speaking, but he should not even listen to such speech. Some who would not think of telling these vicious stories, thoughtlessly join the crowd and seem ingly enjoy listening to this kind of corrupt speech. Is this not equally as sinful? In one of the Virginia campaigns, General U. S. Grant was resting in a farmhouse with some of his offi cers heartily enjoying the good, clean sport of exchang ing amusing stories. Sanctified humor is indeed a gift from God. One of the officers said, “ Now I have a story
to tell, since there are no ladies around.” General Grant looked up and quietly remarked, “ No, but there are gentlemen here.” The story was never told. Closely akin to the filthy story is profanity. There are unwise Christians who do not always guard against this kind of “worthless speech.” Many of us are con stantly confronted by those who cannot speak a solitary sentence without punctuating it frequently with profane words. God says in Exodus 20:7: “ Thou shalt not take the name o f the Lord thy God in vain, fo r the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." But someone may say, “ Though I use profanity occa sionally, I never take the Lord’s name in vain.” God re plies in Matthew 5:34: “ I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne.” There are those who think nothing of blessing God on Sunday and cursing God on Monday. The Bible declares this to be a mark of the unsaved, for God catalogues the characteristics of the unbeliever on Romans 3, verses 13 and 14, stating: “ There throat is an open sepulchre . . . whose mouth is full o f cursing and bitterness.” Un der no circumstances should believers in Christ bear the stamp of this diabolical characteristic. It is “worthless sp.eech.” It accomplishes nothing and is det rimental in every aspect. If people must be profane, why do they take God’s name in vain? Why not Browning’s, Shakespeare’s or someone’s else? Why pick on God? The answer is simple. Such speech is but another sly and subtle trick of Satan to get man to blaspheme the name of the Lord, whom he should honor and love. Deceiving Speech This form of “worthless speech” has to do with lying. It matters not whether they be white lies, black lies, or any other color. They should not proceed out of the believer’s mouth. David said in'Psalm 116:11: “ I said in my haste, All men are liars." He thought he had spoken out of turn, but the facts prove he wasn’t so far wrong. A survey in one of our large Eastern cities reveals that out o f 10,000 men and women, 98 per cent were in the habit of telling lies. How common a practice, even among Christians! Husbands and wives lie to each other. Children lie to their parents. Employers and employees try to deceive each other with lies. No, David was not .impetuous in his observation. David was right! Psychologists now tell us men and women cannot get along without lying. After probing the inside facts on honesty, they have declared that honesty is not always the best policy. They tell us we should not feel
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THE KINO'S BUSINESS
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