ELUL 17
Edification
“Let no corrupt word come out of your
mouth, but only such as is good FOR THE USE OF BUILDING UP, so as to impart
what is pleasant to the hearers.” (Eph 4:29, emphasis mine)
Oikodomē (Strong’s G3619) is the Greek word that has been
translated as ‘building up’ in our opening verse; other translations use the
word ‘edifying’, which is also correct.
The meaning of the word includes the idea of constructing, of building,
but specifically of building and promoting growth in a person’s character, and
relationship with their Creator. Having
said that, it is yet amazing to me that in spite of the fact that our mouths
were created first, to honor, praise and glorify our Creator, and second, to
communicate with one another, with the intention of ‘building each other up’,
we have so thoroughly misused and
abused this gift of speech that has been given to us.
The stepfather that raised me from a small child
until the time I married and left home was British by nationality, and had a
command of the English language that I have never seen the equal to. He truly was the diplomat in how he spoke and related to people, and his
reputation as a businessman and friend was one of integrity. I can well remember being on the receiving
end of his discipline, where he would ‘chew me out’ without ever raising his
voice, or uttering a single cuss word.
The flip side of the coin was all the encouragement and inspiration he
would shower me with, and he is the one that taught me how critical the proper
knowledge and use of a dictionary and thesaurus were. I still have his hardback copy of Roget’s
Thesaurus, ©1962, that stays on my desk.
The choice of words we use when we interact with
one another is indicative of not only our intelligence, our education, but also of our level of care and concern
for our fellow man. In this day and age,
when every other word seems to be some kind of cuss word – many of which I have
never heard of before – it appears that the general populace takes immense
pleasure in seeing how thoroughly and completely that can curse one
another. And this is also infecting the
realms of those who call themselves children of the living Elohim. Folks, stop for just a minute. Picture, please, our Father, as He listens to
the vitriol that spews forth out of mouths that He created for praise, honor,
and encouragement. Do you suppose He
cringes when He listens to us?
During this season of teshuvah, this month of Elul, let us pay close attention to the how we talk with each other, of not only
the words that we use, but even the tone of voice that we use when we
speak. James, the brother of our
Messiah, teaches us that we are never FULLY
mature until we have conquered the use of our tongue (Jam 3:2; 9-10), which
should always be a source of
blessings, encouragement, and words of life.
Speak life, brethren. Speak
hope. And do so with kindness, and
gentleness.
“Let your word
always be with favour, seasoned with salt, so that you know how you ought to answer
each one.” (Col 4:6)
“Words of a
wise man’s
mouth show favour, but the lips of a fool swallow him up.”
(Ecc 10:12)
©2021
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