Foolish Talk
MATT. 15:18 “But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. MATT. 15:19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.
Ephesians 5:4, KJV: Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
What lies in our hearts will find its way out of our mouths soon enough And just as immoral and impure acts are contrary to love, so is vulgarity
Let’s look at each of Paul’s concerns
Paul starts with filthy speech
Filthiness is obscene conversation
Like two men discussing a woman’s body in lurid terms
Or using profanity
Speaking in these ways is the opposite of love
It’s abusive to others
And it’s insensitive to those who will be justifiably offended by such things
In fact, there is probably no faster way to undermine your Christian witness than to engage in profane or obscene speech
And by the same token, there is no more obvious and powerful way to stand apart from the world than to refrain from such language
Next, Paul tells the church to cease silly talk, which could be translated foolish talk
This is a broad category of speech, but think of it as any talk that is beneath us
And in particular, any conversation that diminishes us in the eyes of those we’re trying to influence for Christ
For example, repeating silly phrases like a child might or speaking in a silly voice
Or talking seriously about meaningless things as if they were worthy of mature conversation
I think much of what passes for entertainment on the internet (e.g., internet memes, for example) might fall into this category
We all enjoy the occasional cat video
But it’s easy to get carried away with that sort of stuff to the point of acting juvenile
I think this category of speech is especially challenging for teenagers
It’s a time in life when we’re supposed to move beyond the silly and frivolous to serious concerns of life
Let’s encourage our Christian teens to mirror their adult aspirations with adult speech patterns
Obviously, there can be moments in life when talking in silly ways is perfectly acceptable
Like when entertaining a baby or during private moments with your spouse
But when we carry these kinds of behaviors into a public setting, we encourage others to take us less seriously
And if that’s who we become in front of our friends or acquaintances, then we’ll find it difficult transitioning to serious discussions of eternal life
And it’s in that sense that we are unloving when we talk in this way
If we truly have love for the lost, then we will guard ourselves against looking frivolous or silly before them
We want to make sure they see us as serious, thoughtful people who can be trusted to offer meaning counsel on weighty matters
People don’t seek eternal advice from people who can’t act like an adult
Finally, Paul asks us to put aside coarse jesting
He’s talking about dirty jokes, and we all know one when we hear it
Keep in mind that this category also includes subtle dirty humor
Like double intenders that imply something profane
Once again, we know when we hear it
And term coarse jesting also includes crude remarks of any kind
For example, making off-handed remarks about someone’s spouse
Thomas Constable tells a story of a time he attended a wedding where a guest proudly declared that she was the first person to get the groom drunk
That was coarse jesting too
Coarse talk of this sort isn’t consistent with walking in love because it imposes on others
Either it offends
Or it incites lust
Or it celebrates depravity and sin in others
In all cases, it is contrary to love and detracts from our ability to represent Christ
Instead of these speech patterns, use your tongue to give thanks, Paul says
First to the Lord Himself and then to others
Be someone who is a blessing with your mouth
Because in that way you will certainly stand apart from the world
Which can only serve to help you reach them for Christ
We’ve just begun the chapter and there is a lot more waiting for us here
Paul will move from individual purity to marriage and then family and to those in authority
We’ll have plenty more to consider as we go
But before we look past today, give some sober thought to how you carry yourself in the things Paul mentioned
Remember, your job is to glorify the Father from a thankful, holy heart
Lesson taught by : Stephen Armstrong
Bible Study
Verse by Verse Ministry International
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