Ephesians 4:29 April 9, 2014

Andrew Elkins          

Ephesians 4:29         

April 9, 2014

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. (NIV)

Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you.” (GNB)

I worked with a teacher that personified this verse. She successfully avoided using negative words and phrases. Everything she said was phrased in a positive way. Even when she was angry or exasperated she managed to figure out a way to get it out in a positive way. She rarely lost her temper because of the time it took her to come up with the positive words to say what she wanted to say. People loved to work with her, because she made you feel good, even if you were having the worst day imaginable. That classroom was one of the most productive classrooms I've ever been in. Success was the bi-product of such a pervasive positiveness.

Being positive seems to be a very hard state of  being  to achieve.  I know.  I had to  edit  this devotional five or six  times before I had removed all of the negative  terms   that had  made their way in. If we practice being   positive,  being  positive  will become  a habit.  Yes, it  seems  like  it is  harder  to use positive words  and  phrases  exclusively  than it  is  to  make   ourselves exercise, but it is   possible.  I’ve witnessed it, though I still  find it hard to believe.