Ephesians 5 (What Did You Say?)

James Dobson writes the following on communication in marriage: "Research makes it clear that little girls are blessed with greater linguistic ability than little boys, and it remains a lifelong talent. Simply stated, she talks more than he. As an adult, she typically expresses her feelings and thoughts far better than her husband and is often irritated by his reticence. God may have given her 50,000 words per day and her husband only 25,000. He comes home from work with 24,975 used up and merely grunts his way through the evening. He may descend into Monday Night Football, while his wife is dying to expend her remaining 25,000 words."

It paints a pretty helpful picture, doesn't it?  Anyone who have ever been in a romantic relationship can probably attest to this.  Josh just pointed out to me this past week that he walked in the door and I was a continual stream of talking for the first five minutes. He did not say one word.  Luckily, we have learned this about ourselves, and we were able to laugh at it (couldn't have said the same for our first year of marriage though).  Okay, so I talk a lot.  So what?  Well, according to scripture, each word is a pretty big deal.

In Ephesians 5 this morning, I want to focus on one verse.  It really hit me today.  

Verse 4 says, "Let there be no filthiness, crude joking, nor foolish talk, which are out of place, but instead, let there be Thanksgiving."

I read this and initially thought to myself, well, I don't tell sexual jokes, so I'm good!  Ah, but what does the Bible say is filthy talk? 

"A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret" (Proverbs 11:13).  We can't be trustworthy if we are gossiping!

"Do not testify against your neighbor without cause or use your lips to deceive" (Proverbs 24:28).  Even exaggeration is deception.  We are being liars when we exaggerate.

"Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks" Matthew 12:34.  Our words don't lie to us.  They are an outpouring of what is really going on on the inside.  Check yourself: what words have come out of your mouth in the past 24 hours?  What do those words say about the condition of your heart?  I know I have had said some "filthy" things.

My favorite version of today's verse (Eph. 5:4) is found in The Message, "Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better uses for language than that. Don't talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn't fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect." 

Oh wow.  That is powerful.  A dialect is a reflection of where you come from -- your roots and heritage.  As Christians, we are now citizens of Heaven! (Phil. 3:20 "But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.")  Our roots and our heritage are holy and pure.  When people hear me talk, I want it to be evident in my speech that this is not my homeland.  I am living in a foreign land.  My citizenship is in heaven.  Therefore, according to this verse, my speech should be full of Thanksgiving. 

Have you ever been around a person who is always so thankful?  Not falsely thankful.  That would be deception.  But truly thankful.  How I long to be like that!

But some days I just don't feel thankful.  But see, thankfulness is not a feeling, it's a choice. Actually,  in 1 Thessalonians, thankfulness is a command. "Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."  God tells us to make the choice in all circumstances to be thankful.  Even in the hard times. 

But how can I do that?  The season that I'm going through now is awful.  There is nothing to be thankful about!  Here's how.  Remember the day we talked about where our roots are planted?

"Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness" (Col. 2:7).

Read that verse again. What comfort and security!  If we plant ourselves in Christ no matter what we're currently experiencing, not only will we have some thankfulness, we will overflow with it!  Guess where that overflow will have to go?  Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.  

 It will come out of your mouth in your speech.  All 50,000 words per day.