September 26, 2011 What do they hear?

Eph. 4:29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a words as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear. v 20 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Definition of UNWHOLESOME 1 : detrimental to physical, mental, or moral well-being : UNHEALTHY 2 a : CORRUPT, UNSOUND b : offensive to the senses : LOATHSOME Mirriam-Webster Dictionary

Boy, the word unwholesome covers a lot of territory, doesn't it? Detrimental to the body, the mind and the morals or ethics! Paul is here encouraging or admonishing the Ephesians, and by extension us, to be careful about what we say, how we use words. And as I read this, I noticed something - it says "that it may give grace to those who hear."

Did you ever notice the difference between hearing and listening? I didn't until I was learning French and the words ecouter and etendre. One means to hear - like to hear a sound. The other has the sense of paying attention to the sound - listen, more than just noticing a noise.

Have you ever heard something you were not listening for or to? Perhaps it was a parent, shall we say, communicating with a child at the grocery store, and the child communicating back. Maybe it was someone sitting behind you in church, or near you in a store, even in a waiting room somewhere. You heard words that, though not meant for your ears, still offended or hurt or discouraged you. That's what this verse is talking about.

We are to speak in such a way that we not only grace the person who is listening to us, to whom we speak, but those who may hear our words, even accidentally. The ones who hear words out of context, but who nonetheless are affected by them.

All of these makes me think of the "private jokes" we participate in where some are not included in the inside story, and feel left out, and are thus hurt or offended. Or the times when we indulge ourselves and say out loud what we are thinking without thinking about how it might affect those around us.

Words are powerful, to encourage and to discourage, and God expects only the first from us. We cannot forget the words that follow the admonition to use our words wisely, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit." God notices what we do with our words, and not only can we hurt or offend other people, but we sadden God when He sees us act so thoughtlessly, misrepresenting who He is and who we are...as His children.