Conversation. It's a huge part of our lives. We spend our day conversing with our husband, our children, our family, our friends and with God. We talk face to face, on the phone, email, chat and text. When we're not talking with with somebody, chances are we are processing thoughts, stories and feelings that we will share with at least one person at sometime.
God has made us to desire and need to share our thoughts with other people. But when is the last time I stopped and considered the spirit I bring to a conversation? Do I use my words to bring life? Or do I have a reputation for bringing the latest bit of negative news along with me?
Our words determine the spirit of a conversation and our thoughts and attitudes determine our words. If I want to become a vessel for HIS honor then I am going to have to deliberately purify my thought life. If I allow my mind to run along in "empty" subjects, subjects that belittle my friends, my family through Jesus, then those thoughts will be the subject of my conversation. And "they will all the more add to the wickedness of those who converse in them"
So, not only will I be in the wrong, I will at the very least be putting temptation in front of my friends by putting empty thoughts into their minds. Which means I am letting myself be used as a vessel of dishonor for the enemy." It's a scary thought!!
Now I am going to hear negative thoughts and stories, most likely every day. And if I don't hear them, I will probably be tempted to come up with some myself. But I don't have to give in! There are negative things in this world, but we don't have to talk about each of them to other people. We have a great and wonderful God who is willing to hear each of our thoughts. We can turn these negative thoughts into prayers! Not prayer requests that we pass along to other people, because that can be a sure fire way to get the news spread {even if it makes me feel holy, it can be very hypocritical!}. I'm sure there is a time and a place to share prayer needs with other people, but I need to deliberately take time to think it through before I share.
I can also bring a deriding spirit to conversations. Maybe I have a friend who does things differently, or dresses in a way I consider completely tacky. Do I let my mind deride her or do I look past the clothes to the sparkly, fun loving eyes, the ever present smile and the desire to serve Jesus. After all, we are sisters. What right do I have to mock her style of dress? {You know if we think it, it will come out at some point in time. We can disguise it as an offhand remark, but the spirit is still there. Yikes!!}
Or how about the way I see people who are not part of the family of God. I can feel disgust when I see sensually dressed belly dancers at the local farmer's market with men lounging around watching. I can feel disgust when a man that looks more like a woman talks to Jakki. I can try wait to give the little shiver of contempt until my back is turned. But people can pick it up. And if they don't God always does. I still must confess it to Him. What if my little smirk of disgust doesn't go unnoticed by the person and I become responsible for their distrust or dislike of Christianity? Then I am, in someway at least, responsible for their eternity. What if I turned someone away from seeking Jesus by being a poor representative of His?
When I begin to think through this subject I can feel so unworthy. I can feel like it is an impossible mountain to tackle. But it's not! God does not demand perfection in a day, or even a week or year. Even the Apostle Paul says "I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me."
If a man who wrote a good part of the New Testament has not attained, there is hope for us! But the key is to "press on" I can't expect God to someday magically make me perfect when I have not even tried. It's an uphill battle. It's a daily battle. But the victory is there for the taking! Let's press forward to the high calling!
"I'm pressing on the upward way;
New heights I'm gaining every day!
Still praying as I'm onward bound,
'Lord plant my feet on higher ground!'
"Lord lift me up and let me stand
By faith on heaven's table land;
A higher plane than I have found,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground."
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