Devotion 1: Talk the Talk

January 20, 2025 5:00 AM
Lesson Three | Devotion 1: Talk the Talk  
Grant Grimes 

“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.” Ephesians 4:29 

There is a popular phrase we often hear about speech or talking: “If you are going to talk the talk, then you better walk the walk.” I want to bring up this phrase because we often, as Christians, neglect to control our speech. So often in our lives, we choose to follow Christ, yet our everyday speech and tone do not follow our new direction. We continue to cuss, speak in harmful ways, cut people down, and truly dishonor God with our words. Our words are, as Paul says, corrupt, or a better term in my opinion, rotten. Our speech is putrid and forces people to walk away with not only a bad sense of us, but of the One our life is supposed to be pointed.  

If our speech is supposed to be without corruption, then what is our speech supposed to look like? This is the aspect where growth mindset comes into play. Once you have accepted Christ as your Savior, you are to grow in relation to and emulate Christ. A great reminder for me is found in 1 Corinthians 6:20, “For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” We were bought with a price so we must honor God with every aspect of who we are, including our speech. If we are going to walk with the Lord and grow in our relationship, we have to “talk the talk” as well. I love when Paul talks about “building up.” When I was studying this part of the passage, I saw an interpretation of bringing something closer to completion or fullness. That is what our speech should do: bring people closer to completeness, which is Jesus Christ, the founder and perfecter of our faith. 

In breaking down the next portion of this verse, I think the best translation comes from the New Living Translation, which says, “according to their needs.” Our speech is supposed to help the needs of the people around us. As a Christian, a part of growing in Christ is living a life of servitude. I really think this relates to our speech as well. If people leave our conversations with rudeness, hurt, and pain, are we truly serving the Lord with our speech? Does our speech build up and serve the needs that are around us?  

Paul finishes with the theme of grace. Do our words lead people back to the grace of God? Jesus Christ has died for all sin and extended grace upon grace. Do we live a life in which our conversations point toward Christ? If they do not, then that is where we need to grow, speak words that raise people up, fit their needs, and show the love of Christ.  

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