AVOID GODLESS CHATTER

MONDAY 06 SEPTEMBER 2021

Sharing the truth with others is one of the important ways to proclaim the gospel and minister grace that will impart a great deal of spiritual knowledge to their lives. That means, godly conversation is one of the free gifts God gave us to express ourselves freely with those around us and to change their lives. We must always aim to inspire others spiritually through our conservations as Christians and the manner of speech must depend on godly perspective.

Reference: 2 Timothy 2:16 New Living Translation (NLT) "Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behaviour."

Paul understands the power of speech. He wrote a letter of encouragement from the prison reminding Timothy, his spiritual son and young pastor ministering to the church at Ephesus at the time, of his spiritual heritage and responsibilities. Then Paul got to a point where he guided Timothy to fortify himself with the Word and present himself approved to God by rightly diving the word of truth. He also warned him against using the wrong vocabulary, speech or conversation while communicating with others because of the negative impact. He addressed such conversations as godless and empty chatter that would usually promote ungodliness or ill manners or lead to unacceptable behaviours.

In other words, Timothy must never get involved in disputes with the false teachers, who mostly focused on ignorant and unspiritual ideas. Getting involved with such people would result in foolishness. Out of the mouth of such teachers emanated unprofitable words and they enjoyed foolish and insensitive talks, to the ruin of their audiences. So Paul cautioned Timothy to avoid worthless, foolish talks that only led to more godless behaviour.

By considering what Paul was saying, truly no serious Christian should delight in worthless, foolish talk which has several disadvantages that can wreck the spiritual life of any person that engages in it excessively. Paul warned that it could only lead to more godless behaviour. And we understand what "more" means here. Such worthless engagements cause a lot of damage and can destroy the faith of any real Christian. The next verse says, "their message will spread like cancer." Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort who have strayed concerning the truth..." (2 Timothy 2:16-18). Here, Paul gave us examples of the wrong doctrine bearers.

We must therefore be careful to avoid profane and idle babbling Christians, or carefully discern the source and manner of any conversation to refrain from being polluted by their corrupting influences and even wrong desires or dispositions. The Scriptures are complete and every word from God is corroborated or validated by the Bible. In fact, the Word remains the plumb-line against which all truth and divine revelation are measured. Any deviation from the truth will definitely lead to ungodliness or godless character. Some Christians have departed from the truth because they entertained unspiritual, irresponsible talk or they allowed profane conversations over time. As a result they were carried away by the wrong wind of doctrine.

This is God's ultimate desire for us: That we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming (Ephesians 4:13-14). Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Job 15:3; 1 Timothy 4:7; James 4:1; Timothy 6:20; Titus 3:9.

Exuberant Declaration: Jesus gave Himself for me and redeemed me from all iniquity, including profane and idle babblings. I'm now of great value in Christ and I speak the wisdom of God in a mystery among they that are mature. I'm devoted to my Master's service, well equipped for good works and I consciously avoid worthless talk and discussions that lead to godless behaviour. As I confidently build my faith with the Word, I develop the right and godly vocabulary that ministers grace and transforms lives for Christ. Hallelujah!