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You're listening to the My Morning Devotional Podcast, episode 1492. Today's devo is called "Unwholesome Talk." Hey there! We're the Alessis, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida.
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And if you're like us, when days get busy and to-do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a 5-minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional Podcast.
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Well, welcome back everybody. Happy Tuesday. This is Gabby, your host for the week, and I hope you guys are enjoying all of our episodes this month so far as we're talking about some inconsistencies that we might deal with personally. Yesterday I talked about fear, and that is something that in this season I'm starting to notice more and more.
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You know, getting married, there is this fear of what's to come.
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You know, there's unknown in the future. That's an inconsistency that I'm working through. The other one is all about unwholesome talk, and it's just the power of your words and the words that come through. And for me, honestly, my inconsistency is being unfiltered. Anybody— can anyone relate with me? This is a very— Solange is in the studio right now and she is literally waving her hand. This is a very hard thing for a lot of people. I would say it's a hard thing for women. But I don't think that's true. I think this is an issue that all of us have. I think it's an issue that all people have because if you read the Bible, especially in the New Testament, Paul addresses unwholesome talk and unfiltered talk so many times. So you can sense that even back in the early days of Christianity when the church was created and they were building all these other churches, that this was an issue in the church.
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This was a problem for Christians, and I think it's an issue because the idea is we just don't think about it. We just talk. We have a thought and we go, and we don't check it. We don't kind of check it at the door. And Ephesians 4:29, which this is Paul talking, he says this "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. So there's a couple things here that already I am in disagreement with in my flesh. Number one, it's the unwholesome talk. Don't let any of it come out of our mouths, right? This is difficult because there's a whole lot of stuff that I just feel in my heart to say.
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I know that you probably feel the way— the same way. I just want to say it. Let's just speak it. Let's just say it like it is. But he's saying, don't let any of that come out of your mouth. But here's what's interesting. He says, only say what is helpful for building others up according to their needs. And this is the point that I think we need to remember today, that sometimes we think we know what's helpful for other people, so we'll say things that align with that. I'm going to tell them like it is because maybe, you You know, maybe they're not gonna like it in the moment, but it's gonna be helpful for them. And I know what they need. When in reality, we don't know what people need. In reality, we don't know how people process. And I'm, I, I wanna make sure I'm not saying that you can't say anything that is going to help them and maybe it hurts them in the moment, but ultimately it's gonna help them. No, the Bible says to speak the truth in love. But I, I think sometimes we will take that and I'll, I'll just for me. I will take that to a point where I'll take advantage of it, and I go, you know what, maybe they don't like to hear it, but they need to hear it, when I'm looking at what I think they need versus what they actually need. And so Paul is telling this to a group of people that are believers, they're Christians. He's actually— this is part of a big, uh, chapter where he's talking to them about like, hey, don't be like other normal Gentiles or people that don't believe. You have to be different, like you're believers now. And people that don't believe in God, they just say whatever's on their mind. They speak through their flesh like they're not thinking, whereas believers, we can't do that. And I think it's a great reminder for all of us today. There's a lot of stuff that we can say.
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There's a lot of thoughts that come through our mind. There's a lot of opinions that we're going to have, but it doesn't mean it's helpful to building others up and in their needs. So today, let it be a challenge. Let it challenge you. Look, I did a whole week back in August of last year where I talked about unwholesome talk, or I talked about being unfiltered. If you need to go back and listen to that as well, I encourage you to do so because this is something that we all need to remind ourselves. I need this reminder. I think I'm just speaking. If this doesn't help you, it helps me because there's a lot of stuff that I could say. There's a lot of stuff I want to say, but not everything is helpful to building others up. And their needs. The, the lesson that taught me this, or I'm still learning, is being married because my husband is a wordsmith and you heard him last month. He was on the podcast and you guys can tell he is very good at speaking and he's very good at words and he knows a lot of words. I am not.
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I take a long time to make my point because I just have a lot of thoughts and I'm not great with my words. And there have been arguments that we have had at home because I just said something and I don't remember what I said. Why? Because I didn't think about it long enough before I said it. And he has had to remind me on multiple occasions of, you said this, why did you say it? And it's hurt me because I've realized I say a lot of things without any intention, without any planning. There's no purpose behind it. I just say it.
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And it has really hurt my husband. It's hurt my, my siblings. It's hurt people that I've encountered because I just say it like it is, and that's not something that is building them up in their needs. So I hope this challenges all of us today, that maybe you're listening on the way to work today, or you've got your kids in the car, or maybe you're listening even later in the day, that from this point on, let's think about the words that we're speaking. Let's put a godly filter. We ask the Holy Spirit to put a a filter in between our mind and our mouth, that we wouldn't let anything come out of our mind or our mouth that is tearing others down for the sake of our needs. Everything that comes out of our mouth, let it lift people up, let it build them up, let it be helpful to them, and let it be according to their needs. Holy Spirit, we need you today.
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We need your help today more than many other days because this is a challenge for all of us. But I just ask, Holy that you would remind all of us that you put a filter over our minds, God, that as we speak to others today, as we speak even to ourselves, God, that you would help us speak words that are uplifting, they build other people up, they're helpful, and they help other people's needs. Father, we want to bless people today.
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We don't want to curse others. So help us, Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So there you have it, your 5-minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend, leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow, we pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.
