Ephesians 4:29 “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.”
Spring semester at my college begins this week. The text I use for my Public Speaking classes is titled On Speaking Well by Peggy Noonan. She does a great job of explaining the do’s and don’ts of speaking in front of an audience. But the Bible encourages us in another kind of speaking well that stands far more consequential. It’s how we are to use our words to bring life.
So what does Spiritual Speaking Well look like?
First, we speak well when we speak the truth. Paul exhorts us to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). We might be right about an issue, but we don’t have the right to speak it in ways that undermine the message. Judgmental words don’t get past the hammer, anvil and stirrup of the middle ear. People are more desperate to hear the truth than we think, but also desperate to have an excuse not to listen. Speaking the truth in anything but love gives them justification for turning us off.
When we speak well we deliver grace. “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:6). Grace builds up other people. It gives them space to change. When my public speaking students critique one another’s uh’s and like’s they often precede their comments with, “I do the same thing…” Their expression of grace unlocks the door to receptivity.
The art of speaking well from a spiritual perspective is becoming increasingly rare. We’re bombarded with crass speech on social media and in entertainment. Negative comments that deride people we disagree with seem to flow as quickly from Christ-followers as they do from nonbelievers. Do we really think graceless comments and harsh criticism advance the kingdom of God?
I’m not saying we shouldn’t address wrongs. But if we hope to win anyone over to our side, it won’t happen through reckless words and sarcastic put downs. I know it’s hard sometimes. Taming the tongue takes more than a half-hearted effort (James 3:8). But every time we choose to speak light into darkness by the grace of God, we speak life. We speak well.