Did you know that your words smell? And no, I’m not talking about your breath.
The words we choose to speak have a distinct smell; some words smell good, and some smell bad. Paul referenced the smell of our words in Ephesians 4:29 when he wrote, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
The Greek word translated as corrupted means rotten. I’m sure you have smelled something rotten before. You walk into the kitchen and the scent slaps you right in the face. You try to hunt the source of the stench, and after several minutes you see the bag of potatoes in the corner. You hold your breath and reach for the bag; once you pick it up you see that it is dripping. You now work to get the rotten vegetables out of your house as soon as possible, and remove any trace of their remnants.
Rotten food stinks. So do some of our words. Making fun of people (whether to their face or behind their back) smells terrible. Tearing down someone made in the imagine of God is a rotten thing to do. Being a constant complainer stinks. Making crude jokes is putrid. Deception reeks. No one wants to be around that kind of smell.
On the other hand, our words can be a sweet smelling aroma. After condemning corrupted words, Paul said to use words that fit the occasion, words that build up and give grace to the hearer.
What if, instead of walking in the kitchen to the unwelcome smell of rotten potatoes, you are instead greeted by the smell of an apple pie in the oven? (or insert your favorite dessert) Any sane person would rather smell the pie than potatoes, and the same goes for our language. How much better would the world smell if we all commit to only speaking words that build up?
Comments