“Well-Chosen Words” – FBC Morning Light (9/29/2023)

Proverbs on Speaking Well and Speaking Carefully

Well, a good Friday morning. I hope your week has gone well, and now you've come to the end of the work week and to the next to the last day of September. Tomorrow we wrap up the month of September and the third quarter of the year, and before you know it, 2023 will be in the history books.

Well, I hope things are going well for you, and today in our Bible reading we're finishing up also, another thing we're finishing up, is the book of Isaiah, chapters 65 and 66, 1 Timothy 5 and Proverbs 25.

So, many days this week we've looked at verses in Proverbs, and today I want to look at two verses that provide the same coin, but opposite sides of that coin, and they have to do with what you say. So, in verse 10, verse 11, it says, a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

And so obviously this verse is talking about how beneficial and helpful it is to say, you know, the right thing at the right time, that for a person, whatever they're going through and whatever the occasion might happen to be, knowing how to say the right thing to benefit the other person is a great gift, and I would suggest it's something that we should all strive to improve in.

So, for example, our ladies, once a month on Wednesday nights, they're doing a Bible study together, and they're working through a book on this very subject, on the right kind of things to say, and what to say, and how to say it, and so forth.

It's a very beneficial study. Why? Why are they doing that study? Why is it beneficial? Because, you know, as believers in Christ, we want to represent Him well, and we want to be able to be an encouragement to others.

We want to be able to say things that are appropriate to the situation, to the occasion, and to the individual. So that's one side of the coin. The other side of the coin is seen in verse 20, which says, Like a man who takes away a garment in cold weather, and like vinegar on soda, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

Yeah, so on the one hand, a word fitly spoken, it's appropriate to the occasion, and in its manner, it's helpful, and it's appreciated. But an inappropriate word, or, you know, saying something not really appropriate for the situation, can be very hurtful, very harmful.

I just did a little search on some things you don't say to a person who is depressed. And, you know, can Christians be depressed? Yeah, they sure can. And it would be a terrible thing as a believer, speaking to another believer who is discouraged, or downcast, or depressed, it'd be a terrible thing for you to go to them and say, you know, if you're a Christian, you shouldn't be depressed.

You really shouldn't. You need to get your act together here. That's not an appropriate thing to say. But I found this particular site that I thought was pretty helpful. It says, for one thing, don't tell them to cheer up.

Don't say things like, come on, cheer up, think positively, just smile, snap out of it. No, you don't say that. Second thing, don't invalidate their feelings. Like, you don't seem sad, or it's all in your head, or I've dealt with worse.

Don't go there. Thirdly, don't blame them. Don't lay a guilt trip on them. Now, it can be that, you know, depression or great discouragement is somebody's fault. It can be the consequence of some bad behavior, some bad choices, and so forth.

There's a time to deal with those bad choices. But when the person is feeling depressed, now is not the time to start lashing out against them and blaming them. Number four, it says, don't ignore them.

Don't not say anything. And then, fifthly, it says, don't tell them other people have it worse. Don't say, come on, it's not that bad. What about all the starving children in India, or something of that nature?

Those are words that are like vinegar on soda. Be careful. Be careful what you say to someone who's down and discouraged and depressed. Don't start singing a song and expect them to sing along. No, don't do that.

Instead, think about, what can I say to this person that would be like apples of gold in settings of silver? A word fitly spoken. Think on those lines. So, yeah, two sides of the same coin. Let's be careful what we say, when we say it, how we say it, and to whom we speak.

Our Father and our God, the tongue is a very powerful thing. May we wield it for good, and we pray it in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen. All right, well listen, have a great rest of your day and a wonderful weekend, and I hope on the Lord's Day, you will make a point to gather with God's people and be faithful in your local church.

Have a good day.