Think before you speak… How do You Serve Part two…

)These thoughts are following on from Saturday’s post and are based on this scripture)…

‘By love serve one another.’

How can we serve by the words that we speak?

Friends, there’s more to what we say than just the words. There’s the tone of voice we use and also what our words imply.

Do our words give life?

‘A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.’

Words can encourage, build up and comfort but words can also discourage, tear down and wound.

You may have heard of this acrostic to think before you speak…

T – is it true?

H – is it helpful?

I – is it inspirational?

N – is it necessary?

K – is it kind?

The middle one of these – “is it inspirational” – has really got me thinking in a different way…

Who do we serve with our words?

Do our words inspire others to serve God or do they inspire them to serve the world and the enemy of our souls?

Friends, Satan loves to cause a rift, through anger, hurt feelings etc between God’s people and so often, all he has to do is to get one person to say something unwise, one person offended and then sit back and leave our tongues to do the rest!!

Friends who are we serving with our words?

How we each need God to give us grace so that by love, by HIS love in us, our words might serve others and also serve God.

James gives us this advice

‘Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.

But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.

This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.

For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.’

Friends, may we each be seeking God’s wisdom and help in all we say that our words might bring peace and not strife.

Gal 5:13, Prov 25:11, James 3:13-18.