Rotting Words

Probably nothing is more disgusting than pulling something out of the fridge and finding it covered with green, fuzzy, smelly stuff! What makes it even worse is that you were just thinking about eating it!
The Bible says that there is a type of speech that can be characterized as “rotting words.” Ephesians 4:29 says, “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.” The phrase “corrupt communication” gives the idea of “rotting words.”
Rotting words are the opposite of words that are good for “edifying” and “ministering grace to the hearers.” As Christians, our speech is to build up those who hear it. It should be an example of the love and kindness we demonstrate to others on a regular basis. Anything we say that does not build up those around us is rotting speech and should never even come out of our mouths.
In other words, nothing should come out of our mouths that does not build others up in the Lord. What a great test to apply to anything we are about to say! Before we say something, we ought to ask ourselves, “Will this build up others and help them grow in the Lord?” If we have to answer no, then it would be sinful for us to say it.
This is an area our youth group would do well to work on. Many things are said between teens that may seem funny and make people laugh— even the person who was the butt of the joke! But those things are like deep wounds: they hurt for a long time. In just a few minutes, with a couple rotting words, we can do great harm! The Bible says the tongue is full of vicious, deadly poison (Jas 3:8). We cannot allow anything that does not build up others out of our mouths.