Men,
I was listening this morning (as I do every morning just about) to Wisdom for the Heart by Stephen Davy, and he was delivering a message from his series "The Depravity of Man...The Deliverance of God." This series is an incredible explanation of the depravity of man as Paul describes in Romans 3:10-18. Stephen "pulls off the blindfold to reveal the true condition of man." It's a great tool for evangelizing because it is "far from depressing, because an honest self-understanding is the beginning of hope...hope in the One who can truly deliver."
The message today was entitled, "Seasonings of the Tongue." In this message he is teaching about the "Divine Diagnosis of Mankind's Mouth," a reference to Romans 3:13 "Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep on deceiving, the poison of asps is on their lips." He lists several different kinds of tongues:
• a flattering tongue (Psalm 5:9),
• a proud tongue (Psalm 12:3),
• a lying tongue (Proverbs 6:17),
• a deceitful tongue (Psalm 120:2),
• a perverted tongue (Proverbs 10:31),
• a wicked tongue (Psalm 10:7),
• a soothing tongue (Proverbs 15:4),
• a destructive tongue (Proverbs 17:4),
• a gossiping tongue (Proverbs 25:23).
He goes on to say "It is the tongue which:
• makes or breaks apart a marriage,
• makes a home a pleasant environment or a desert,
• makes friends or loses them,
• strengthens a church or divides it,
• attracts people to Christ or repels them,
• honors God or curses Him.
Stephen continues throughout this message describing the deception, the untold damage, the internal despair that the tongue inflicts and reveals. Then he reminded us of Jesus' words in Matthew 12:34 "...the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart." DAGGER!!!!! It is heart wrenching for me to think of my life before knowing Jesus and the things that my tongue has done. It is shameful to think of the things that my tongue SINCE I've been walking with the Lord.
But then Stephen closes with a lesson of how we SHOULD live. Colossians 4:6 says "Let your speech always be gracious, as though seasoned with salt..." He explains how important the use of Salt is. In Pauls day it was "akin to treasure." It was used as currency in the market place. Roman soldiers were paid in salt. That's where we get the phrase, "a man's gotta be worth his salt." Salt was valuable. Stephen says "Just as salt makes food more palatable by enhancing the natural flavor of food, so choice words, used appropriately, enhance a person's reputation as being a gracious person." He goes on to list some valuable words for us to use often and abundantly and I wanted to share them with you:
PLEASE - "When you say please, you are revealing humility and you are treating the other person, not as an object placed on earth to serve you, but as a person with dignity and honor."
Thank you - "When was the last time you thanked your wife for dinner. Told her that it was delicious."
I appreciate you - " Talk about a treasure in words. Like flavoring to food – so these words bring spice and flavor to the heart."
I am sorry...I was wrong - "What rare words. There are no loopholes in these words; there is
no escape clause; there are no excuses – just full admission."
I forgive you - "Perhaps there are no more powerful words in the human language than those. There might be a marriage that would instantly begin to heal, if those words were spoken. There might be a relationship between a son and a father, business associates, two believers caught in conflict, whose lives would once again enjoy the flavor of life itself, if those words were spoken."
Stephen shares an old prayer with us..." O Lord, fill my mouth with worthwhile stuff, and then nudge me when I’ve said enough.”
I have a question for you Men...ARE YOU SALTY?
