Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

  - Ephesians 4.29

My speech—may it praise You without flaw:
May my heart love You, King of heaven and earth.
My speech—may it praise You without flaw:
Make it easy for me, pure Lord,
to do You all service and to adore You.

  - Anonymous, Irish, 12th century[1]

The apostle James reminds us that faith without works is dead (Jms. 2.17). Believing Jesus involves understanding Who He is and what He requires; loving Him above all else; valuing His priorities and Kingdom; and obeying with our mind, heart, conscience, and life, whatever He requires.

Faith comes to light in obedience, and obedience is expressed in words and deeds. Our waking moments are filled with these; thus, everything we say, and all we do has the potential for showing Jesus to the world.

For this to happen, we need to pay careful attention to all our words and deeds, making the best use of them for the glory of God (Matt. 5.13-16; Eph. 5.15-17; 1 Cor. 10.31). Because our tongues—our words—are the hardest members to tame, we must devote ourselves more conscientiously to making sure the words that come out of our mouths are words of love for God and our neighbors (Jms. 3.2-5).

Today we will distribute words here and there, to this person and that, much of the time without a great deal of thought or concern. “Hey, how you doin’?” “What’s up?” “Fine, just fine; you?” “How was your day?” “Please pass the salt.” “Will you hand me the remote?”

When we consider what a great gift it is to be able to communicate with words, in sentences adorned by emphasis, pace, carefully-crafted grammar, and appropriate volume, it seems a shame that we should ever utter even a single word without selecting it carefully, like a master bowman would an arrow, and aiming it at a consciously-chosen target.

Speaking, after all, is a kind of art form, and one of those “all things” areas where we have the potential for glorifying God throughout the day.

The words that pass from us to others are fraught with potential, either for good or ill. If we wish them to be the former, then we must nurture love for Christ and our neighbors in our heart and make it our business to serve and adore the Lord with all our speech. But seasoning our words with grace doesn’t come naturally (Col. 4.6); we’ll have to work at this discipline, like any other.

We show that we love Christ in conversation when we devote our words as vessels of love to build others up in grace. And, like anything devoted to the Lord, we should try to make our words as spotless, faultless, and pure as we can.

“My speech—may it praise You without flaw.” This humble prayer, offered at various times throughout the day, can remind us of the goal of all our conversation, which is to minister grace to others through speech that edifies, words that express Jesus and urge others to become more like Him. They who experience edification and uplift from our words will linger and pay attention when we speak, and this can make all our speech, no matter the subject or duration, part of an ongoing conversation about the grace of God and the Good News of His Kingdom.

Let’s not be sloppy about our speech but seek to “do all service” to the Lord and show our adoration for Him by the way we use our words to edify others.

Devote your conversations to the Lord and offer them up each day as sweet music to His and your neighbors’ ears.

For Reflection
1. How can prayer help in making sure all your words are seasoned with grace?

2. What about forethought? Planning? Preparation?

Psalm 141.3, 4 (Truro: Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns!)
Lord, set a guard upon my mouth; let not my heart to evil bend.
Nor let me work iniquity in company with wicked men.

Give thanks
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

Resources for setting your mind
Three resources are available from The Fellowship of Ailbe to help you set your mind on the things that are above. You can download the four installments in our ReVision study, “We Would See Jesus”, by clicking here. Our book, Vantage Point, can help you learn to see your life as Jesus does, from the perspective of our heavenly calling. Order your copy by clicking here. Finally, our workbook, The Landscape of Unseen Things, offers 24 brief Biblical studies surveying the unseen realm. Order your copy by clicking here.

Thank you.
Many of you are faithful and generous in praying for and supporting Crosfigell and The Fellowship of Ailbe. Thank you. May I encourage all our readers to seek the Lord about becoming a supporter of The Fellowship of Ailbe? It’s easy to give to The Fellowship of Ailbe, and all gifts are, of course, tax-deductible. You can click here to donate online through credit card or PayPal or Anedot, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.

T. M. Moore, Principal
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All Psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[1] Davies, p. 260.