,Love “…does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil.”
As the title states, we need to think before we speak: T - Is it True? H - Is it Helpful? I - Is it Inspiring? N - Is it Necessary? K - Is it Kind? It is important that what we say to or about others is unequivocally true.This is important to our Christian witness. Jesus never spoke anything but the truth, and when He said harsh words to people like the Pharisees, what He told them was truth that they needed to hear. Doesn’t Christian love demand that we be truthful, and tactful, in what we say to and about people? Before you speak think whether what you are about to say is true or not. It is important that what we say to others is helpful. For example, if you criticize someone, make sure that the criticism will be helpful to them. Sometimes we can say hurting things to people that are intended to put them down. I don’t think that it is ever helpful to intentionally say hurtful things to people. Christian love demands that when we speak to or about other people that what we say is meant to be helpful and not hurtful. It is important that what we say to others is inspiring. I do not mean that we are to say inspiring things to manipulate people to do what we want them to do. We should intend to inspire people to be better people and do better things. Jesus certainly inspired people by what He said to them. Even if Jesus had to say negative things, what He said was inspiring and helped the people to whom He spoke. It is important that what we say is necessary. This might really be in reference to negative things that we might have to say to people. Sometimes when we get started, we say more than is necessary. If we aren’t careful we can keep on until we say something that will sting and alienate the person. There have been times when I have spoken out in groups that I asked myself later if what I said was necessary. Jesus never said unnecessary things to people. It is important that what we say is kind. It is just as easy to say kind things as it is to say unkind things. A good policy might be to not say what we want to say if it is going to be unkind. A lot of families, churches, classes, etc. would be better off if people said kind things to each other. I know that I like for people to speak kindly to me, which means, of course, that I should speak kindly to them. Jesus was kind in what He said to people. Let’s try to be kind in what we say. THINK about it! Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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