Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace to those who hear it. (Ephesians 4:29 AMPC)
Don’t use…
❌ foul words
❌ polluted words
❌ evil words
❌ unwholesome words
❌ worthless words
Do use…
✅ good words
✅ beneficial words
✅ encouraging words
✅ helpful words
✅ graceful words
Let’s put Ephesians 4:29 in practice with every conversation—both in-person and online.
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The apostle Paul asked himself a question which is also a great question for every Christian to ask themselves: “Am I trying to please people?” (Galatians 1:10).
Trying to please people is a trap, and the inevitable result is frustration. Why frustration? Because it is impossible to please everyone. Even Jesus couldn’t do that!
If I am trying to win support from people, I will have to be like a politician who is angling for votes. I will have to make concessions and modifications based on which group I may be speaking to. For a Christian trying to live by the Bible, there are no concessions or modifications that can be made.
In Galatians 1:10, Paul goes on to say, “If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” That is because trying to please people is not serving people but serving my own ego.
Let’s zoom-in on the question Paul uses to open this verse: “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God?”
He is not saying, “I hope God approves of me.” When we have welcomed Jesus into our life as our Lord and Savior, we are already fully accepted and approved of by our Heavenly Father—
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:3-6)
We do not have to try to earn God’s approval, but we will have to stand before Him someday to give an account of how we lived our lives and how we proclaimed the Gospel to others. Looking ahead to this “finish line” will keep us disciplined (Philippians 3:12–14) so that we can rejoice in our reward as our end draws near (2 Timothy 4:6–8).
Let us live, and talk, and work for the applause of nail-scarred Hands. There is only one Voice that we want to hear saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Don’t fall into the people pleasing trap, but keep your eyes and ears solely on your Savior.
Craig T. Owens 