“neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.” -Eph. 5:4
I was thinking through the above verse in the context of putting off the old man and putting on the new man (Eph. 4:22)… And I thought about what I think these three types of speech to be. The first thing that comes to mind with filthy speech is cussing… Foolish talking can be a number of things – gossip or just plain talking whatever I think without thinking about what I might be saying first. I would think of coarse jesting as telling gross jokes about inappropriate things. These are just the things that come immediately to mind as I read those words… And I’m to put off all those things as I put off the deeds of the flesh. Okay, it all makes sense.
Then I got to thinking about what I am to put on instead… giving of thanks. And I thought of something. What is the opposite of giving thanks – my thought would be complaining. I’m obviously not being thankful if I’m complaining or grumbling about something or someone.
So tying all that together – I would have to define complaining as being pretty much the same thinig as the filthy, foolish, coarse speech I’m to put of in Eph. 5:4.
And I was convicted.
Complaining and mumbling are filthy, foolish, coarse talk.
So, complaining and mumbling are just as bad as cussing.
This led me to think of my reactions to different types of speech. If one of my Christian friends were to cuss, it would give me a moment of pause. It might even take me aback. What would my reaction be if one of my Christian friends started complaining about this or that? Would it be the same? I think, sadly, not. I might not even think twice about it. And I thought – this means that I am as bad as the Pharisees! I have decided that certain speech is bad and should not be said, but I will allow for other speech – complaining and grumbling – which are just as bad as dropping a cuss word. And, actually, complaining could be worse than cussing as the Bible specifically says we aren’t to do it (Phil. 2:14 says “Do all things without complaining and disputing.”). Other than not taking the Lord’s name in vain, what specific words are mentioned in the Bible as wrong to say?
Hmmm… lots to think about. I pray that this is on the front of my mind the next time that I want to complain about a situation or am tempted to grumble.
