Recently I was asked to spontaneously comment
on 1 Thessalonians 5:18 in relationship to our speech patterns: “In
everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you.” And then comment on these
questions: Do you fail to give thanks in
all things and at all times? Are you
filled with an attitude of gratefulness and praise?
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| My favorite Southern Gospel Group: The Kingdom Heirs |
I
commented to my listeners, that sometimes it’s very difficult to remain thankful when things are
going badly. It can take grueling effort
to look at the matter from a different perspective and come up with something encouraging or good. When a couple is having
marriage difficulties, it’s tough to come up with something uplifting. When a child or other loved one is in a
hospital bed fighting cancer it can be challenging at the very least to come
up with anything that sounds remotely positive!
I like to look at my cup/life as being “half
full” rather than “half empty.” It
makes my attitude a lot more pleasant.
It doesn’t mean I am happy all the time, because as I explained, while I
am usually happy, I also have bad days and I’m not feeling positive at
all. That’s okay because I know
ultimately good will prevail, because God is good and I will again see the
sunshine. But on those days when I’m
feeling low, sad and just tearful, I have to seriously remind myself that God’s
got this. I have to find that song in my
heart that brings joy despite the pain.
I much prefer those mornings I wake with a
song in my head (and heart), and then find it on a Christian radio station or a favorite CD! But I need to listen to it as “good medicine”
when I’m feeling low. Because what I
hear affects how I feel, and what I say to others also, affects how I feel.
This is true even when we aren’t in a
particularly low mood. If we have a
friend who comes to us with “murmuring,” how we respond affects both of us! If the response is, “Yes but….” And then
follow it with something positive about the person, or even situation, if possible,
it has the power to change the other person’s negativity to something positive
and keeps our heart from spiraling downward.
If the response is, “I know just what you mean…” and follow it with more
negativity, then the stage is set for more rumor, gossiping, and
murmuring.
If my heart is filled with thankfulness and
praise then what comes from my mouth should also be thankfulness and
praise. Your mouth cannot speak what
your heart or mind does not think. When
our hearts are filled with anger, bitterness or anything ugly, that is exactly
what will come out of our mouths.
God wants and expects change if we are
His. We are expected to reach deep into
His word to know His law and His mind.
We are to renew our minds, put off the old creation and put on the
new. If we haven’t yet done this, then
it’s going to be really hard to stop negativity of any kind, because this is
where Satan lives! Even as His children, we are prone to worldly behaviors and this includes thoughts and speech which is ungodly and ultimately a sin.
My challenge for you this week is to consider
your speech patterns. Are they words of
kindness or words that bring other people down?
Are they “gossipy,” those tender little tid bits of information that
only have a grain of truth? Are they
words which are offensive? Would you say
those words to Jesus? Would He approve
of words spoken in anger? You choose.
Will you allow Satan to control your thoughts and thus your tongue with harmful
speech or will you agree to letting God be in control so that what you say is
uplifting?
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