by Ross Ward, Jr.<\/p>\n
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers<\/em>” (Ephesians 4:29).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Have you spent time meditating on how to address a difficult situation? If you are considerate of the things you say and how they are received, you probably have done this a lot. Finding the right words seems to be a difficult task, and even when you think you have the right words, they don’t always produce the result you intended. In our scripture reading, Paul gave the Ephesian Christians some valuable and godly instructions about their speech. It is to be good, edifying, and minister grace. Let’s consider each aspect.<\/p>\n
Good<\/h2>\n
It seems simple enough, it is speech that is good. W. E. Vines gives this definition: “beneficial in its effect.” Does our speech help another? Is it to their benefit? If we are honest, we realize that maybe too often, our speech is what makes us feel good and is not to the benefit of another.<\/p>\n
Edifying<\/h2>\n
Thayer defines it as “building up or the acts of one who promotes another’s growth. Speech that encourages and inspires others to do great things.” This is undoubtedly a very admirable act.<\/p>\n
Ministering Grace<\/h2>\n
The definitions of this phrase differ a little, but it means to bestow grace or gracious speech. The idea of gracious speech is not just speech that benefits and encourages another, but this term includes speech that is not deserved or merited. Being gracious is giving somebody the benefit of the doubt or maybe even choosing to say something slightly differently to avoid being destructive. Paul teaches us to be gracious in our speech.<\/p>\n
Each of these are genuinely great virtues of speech, but they are not always easy to utilize. It takes effort, possibly a lot of effort. With practice and a correct heart, it can become a habit. If we are in the habit of saying the first thing we think, it is very doubtful we will follow these principles.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Ross Ward, Jr. “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29). Have you spent time meditating on how to address a difficult situation? If you are considerate of the things you say and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1059,48,1558],"class_list":["post-69486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-edification","tag-grace","tag-speech"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":59577,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-sin-of-jesting\/","url_meta":{"origin":69486,"position":0},"title":"The Sin of Jesting","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 24, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Kent Heaton \"Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children: And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23996,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-words-we-speak\/","url_meta":{"origin":69486,"position":1},"title":"The Words We Speak","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 4:17-24 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There is a Proverb that stands out in my mind - Proverbs 26:18-19 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0You cannot cover up lies with a claim that you were making a joke. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We are judged by what we say, even the casual things said without much thought\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85612,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/always-with-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":69486,"position":2},"title":"Always with Grace","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Gibson It was about 4:00 a.m. in the ICU. There had been a change of shifts, and a nurse entered Chub Lambert's room whom he had not met before. \"Good morning!\" Chub said. \"How are you doing today?\" She didn't respond at first. 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