"Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” (Ephesians 4:29 NLT)
Do you find yourself saying those words that are far from good or helpful? Sometimes, it happens when watching sports, sometimes, when tired and frustrated, sometimes, it happens after a long and frustrating day.
Here are a few suggestions...
Pause and think before you speak. If I never see this person again, how will they remember me? Will my words encourage or discourage this person? Is what I am about to say worth hearing?
Does anyone need to listen to this? Is there any real value in what I am about to say? Will what I am about to write, speak, or repeat make a difference for good, or does it only feed my ego?
If your words are not good and helpful, and they are not worth hearing, don’t say them. Don’t talk unless you can improve the silence. Silence might be better.
Father, let no corrupt word proceed out of my mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers IJN.
Shalom!