Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking
be put away from you, with all malice.
And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even
as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians
4:31-32 )
Honest and helpful speech will be
healthy speech. It promotes wholesome
relationships.
Why do you think when you go to
the doctor, he or she says, “Open your mouth, stick out your tongue, and say,
‘Ah’ ”? The physician can tell a great
deal about your physical health by simply looking at your tongue. When you examine what comes out of your
mouth, what does it disclose about the condition of your relationships?
Healthy relationships will, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor,
and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.” (Eph.4:31 ). Suppose you were diagnosed with cancer—an
aggressive kind—that the surgeon says must be removed immediately. When you awaken from the operation, the first
question you are likely to ask your doctor is, “Did you get it all?” You realize that with cancer, to leave any
cells, is to see it attack your body again and kill you. Paul, as a doctor of the soul, tells us that
the spiritual malignancies of “bitterness,
wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.” These are lethal to a relationship and must
be excised—all of it!
Yet, the removal of cancer, vital
as that would be to living, does not insure we are healthy. Positively, there would need to be the proper
diet, exercise, and sleep, if physical conditioning is to be classified as
being healthy. I mean you might not have
cancer, but die of a heart attack from gorging yourself and lying around like
an old hog! I’ve heard the term,
“healthy as a horse,” but not “healthy as a hog”! So, the Apostle says that healthy
communication demands the diet of kindness, the exercise of tenderheartedness,
and the rest of forgiveness. The
standard is to forgive as Christ has forgiven us.
Recall the story Jesus told about
a king whose servant owed him a great sum.
When the bill came due, the servant had no means to pay such a sum. In those days, a man could be cast into
debtor’s prison, but when the fellow tearfully shared his bankruptcy, the
wealthy master—who was also rich in kindness—forgave the debt. He wrote every cent off the ledger and bore
the loss himself.
But, there was more to the
story. The fellow who had experienced
such generosity, had a fellow servant who owed him a small sum compared to the
great amount he had owed. He demanded
payment, nonetheless. The other servant
couldn’t come up with even that amount.
Then, the lender grabs the borrower by the throat, slams him against the
wall, and demanded that he pay or be put in prison—and that he did—throwing his
fellow servant in jail.
Word gets back to the king—and he
was ticked! After he was so generous,
and that man was so greedy! Remember
what happened?
Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You
wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on
your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him
to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if
each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” (Matthew
18:32-35 )
When we don’t forgive we harm
ourselves. The iron bars of bitterness
hold us captive. We become tortured
souls. If we want forgiveness, we must
be willing to offer it.
“They owe me!”
No doubt, but what do you owe God
in comparison? A debt that could not be
fully paid if you were tormented for eternity?
Yet, Christ has forgiven you! His
blood has blotted out your debt toward heaven.
Should we not write off in kindness and tenderheartedness the sum others
owe us?
Healthy relationships mean we
sincerely say two words, “I’m sorry” and the response is three words, “I
forgive you.” Open your mouth, stick out
your tongue—what does it reveal about your health?
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