When you are tempted to speak evil words

“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.” (Eph. 4:29 NIV)

Back in the 1950s, when I first started watching television on our small black-and-white TV, people on all the shows were very careful about what they said. No one used swear words. That was then; this is now! Have you noticed that people are no longer cautious about their language on TV? There are no longer any filters or limits on speech, and you can no longer escape hearing swear words without them being bleeped out.

I have a personal rule that I try to follow when listening to the radio, watching television, viewing movies, or even scrolling through posts on my devices: I turn it off when I hear the Lord’s name taken in vain or when swear words, such as the "f" word, are used. As a result, I find myself turning things off quite often these days! However, I have chosen to obey God’s Word, regardless of what the world seems to be doing and how it expresses itself across all mediums as the new normal.

The passage at top says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths.” It is a very clearly stated command for us to obey (not a suggestion). The last part of the verse, instructs us to say, “only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” This means we must never engage in “unwholesome talk.”

What is “unwholesome talk?”

According to the dictionary, unwholesome is defined as: “detrimental to physical or mental health; harmful to moral well being.” Synonyms for unwholesome are: wicked, bad, evil, corrupting, perverting, degrading, immoral, depraving, demoralizing, and maleficent.

The Bible has a lot to say on the subject.

Be careful what you say!

“After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, ‘Hear and understand. It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.’” (Matt. 15:20-11)

“Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The lovingkindness of God endures all day long. Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, O worker of deceit. You love evil more than good, Falsehood more than speaking what is right. You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.” (Is. 52:1-4)

Say only uplifting things

Say uplifting and encouraging things to others to build them up in faith. 

“A soothing tongue is a tree of life, But perversion in it crushes the spirit.” (Prov. 15:4)

Therefore

“A man has joy in an apt answer, And how delightful is a timely word!” (Prov. 15:23)

“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” (Prov. 16:24)

Quote:

“Kind words produce their own image in men's souls; and a beautiful image it is. They soothe and quiet and comfort the hearer. They shame him out of his sour, morose, unkind feelings. We have not yet begun to use kind words in such abundance as they ought to be used.” - Blaise Pascal