How We Should Live

How We Should Live
Pt. 2

     Today in part two of “How We Should Live” Ephesians 4:25 NLT gets right to the point with the following words: “So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.” If we want to live our lives the way God wants us to live them, we need to do all he tells us to do. He tells us to speak truthfully to everyone, all the time.

     I know it’s easier said than done, all of us have told a little white lie a few times in our life. Most of us have told out right fabrications from time to time. God says to Stop It! That means stretching the truth as well as not saying anything and letting a faults idea go uncorrected.

     You may say, “That’s all well and good but what about the questions like: Do you like my new hat, or Do these pants make my back side look big?” We are told to speak the truth in love even when called on to answer tricky questions like those mentioned above. The key is to do so with LOVE.

     Jesus spoke the truth everywhere he went, some people didn’t want to hear it, and others accepted the truth because Jesus spoke in love. God is the way, the truth, and the life, he is also love. Satan is the father if lies. The next time you are tempted to stretch the truth, or tell a little white lie, stop and think who you will be honoring with your speech.

     The next few verses talk about anger, 26- "And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.”[a] Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27- for anger gives a foothold to the devil". How can you give the devil a foothold in your life and still say you are living for Jesus?

     There is a lot of anger and rage in today’s world. We hear about cases of ‘Road Rage’ where someone has become so agitated over some real or imagined driving incident, the enraged person pulls a gun and kills the offending driver. I think that a spirit of rage has been set loose in the world. We need to guard ourselves against letting anger control us. It is possible to be angry and sin not with God’s help.

     Verse 28 explains itself; “If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.” We need to find something useful to do with our hands. Work hard and help others who are in need.

     Paul wrote in verse 29, “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”  Foul or abusive language, I wonder what Paul would think if he could hear our speech of today? Well, guess what, Jesus does hear, is he pleased with the words you let slip from your mouth?

     We also need to be careful of how we talk about others. We should season our speech with love and not be critical of others or speak hatefully to one another. The old saying about sticks and stones could not be farther from the truth. Words can and do hurt especially those spoken in anger. Hastily spoken words have the power to crush the spirit especially the spirit of a young child.

     Have you noticed that most of the scripture used today dealt with the tongue? Lying, letting our anger control our speech as well as our actions, and not use fowl or abusive language was a common thread in today’s study. God knew we would need help and gave us a lot of good advice on controlling our speech found all throughout the bible. If you have a bible with a topical index, you will be able to find many more verses dealing with control of the tongue. Better yet, go to biblegateway.com or Google and you’ll find enough verses to keep you busy reading for hours.

Until next time, my friends, keep living your lives in a manner pleasing to our Heavenly Father.
Oh, by the way, does this hat make me look silly?