Watch Your Mouth

I can remember the day I said my first bad word. I can remember my brother telling me, "You better not let Mom hear you say that. You'll get in trouble!" The word I said isn't even considered a bad word anymore by most. I hear it used by young teens in front of their parents all of the time. I even hear it from the pulpit in some churches.

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:29

Call me "traditional" if you want. Words like "cr*p" and "p*ssed" are ugly words of the world. I cringe inside every time I hear them just as I do other foul language. These aren't words that should be used by the Church.

"Get with the times, GW. Those aren't bad words."

Let me ask you this: if your 6 year old child or sibling said one of those words, how would you react? I would guess that you wouldn't feel comfortable hearing those words from a child. So do you believe God feels comfortable hearing those words from our mouths?

One of those words was my first bad word that initiated a warning from my brother. It was a bad word back in the early 70's. It seems that the world's sensitivity to foul language has become diluted enough to accept these words as proper language now - even in the Church.

I see so many churches try to be relevant in their music, message, methods and ministry. There's certainly nothing wrong with relevancy. I'm all for relevancy! But when the Church begins to imitate the world to the point that you can't tell a difference, there's a problem.

When you can't tell the difference between the Church and the world, how can we profess that Jesus has anything different to offer? May I offer an admonishment this morning to all of those Christians trying to be relevant -- as my parents used to tell me -- "Watch your mouth!"