I was on a forum thread at DST tonight, and one of the members posted this sentence… “while we have free speech, we don’t have consequence-free speech.” I had heard this before, but the reality of it just struck me.
Perhaps because I recently had a conversation with my Pastor, Debbie, in which she mentioned that Ephesians 4:29 has a lot of meaning in it for her personally.
Ephesians 4:29 says, ” Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
After my conversation with Pastor Debbie, I found myself doing a little internal “check” when I was about to say something that was perhaps less than edifying. As the not-so-nice words would come to mind, I would remind myself, “Let no unwholesome speech come out of your mouth.” The little reminder would effectively squelch whatever meanness had popped up.
I have often prayed that the Lord would help me to become a woman of mercy. Likely because mercy is an area in which I need the help from Him. So, now, I have two little reminders in my arsenal against meanness. First, “let no unwholesome speech from from your mouth,” and second, “while we have free speech, we don’t have consequence free speech.”
What helps you avoid meanness?
Be blessed!
Lady V dZine
