“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:25-32
If you are like me, Paul’s words here are easier said than done. I shared this passage in the sermon on Nehemiah’s sadness of the heart on Sunday when talking about emotions. Nehemiah was sad and grieved over the condition of Jerusalem. It is ok for us to feel emotion. It is not ok for us to sin with our emotions.
In speaking truth, may God help us to do so with kind, tender, hearts. In our anger, even the righteous indignation over sin, let us not sin in how we express that anger. Let us guard our tongues so that we don’t let corrupting talk come out of our lives, but instead only that which is helpful for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those that hear.
It is ok to emote. But I do want to encourage you this week in your speech to seek ways to build up others as you speak. May we be used by God to show grace to other people. Especially those of the household of faith.
Discouragement is high for many in our world right now. We have the truths of Scripture and our relationship with Christ to help us to be the encouragement and the hope that others need. I don’t know about you, but when I focus on serving others, that usually changes the way I feel for the better.