Useless Talk

Small talk is difficult for me. Because of a childhood illness, I blamed this on spending so much time alone in recovery that I wasn’t properly socialized, but lately I’m beginning to wonder. Part of that difficulty could be related to this verse:

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth . . . (Ephesians 4:29)

My devotional reading says this is about off-color jokes, profanity, dirty stories, or crude speech. Of course that is correct. Christians should not have a potty mouth just as we are not to gossip or slander others. This is not my problem.

However, the word “corrupt” can also mean “harmful, unwholesome, offensive” or even “corrupted by one and no longer fit for use, worn out, of poor quality, bad, unfit for use, worthless.”

This adds a great deal of connotation, and while I realize that Paul may not have had all these in mind, that description rules out everything from worn-out figures of speech to idle chatter that has no purpose at all. I’m thinking of the usual “Nice weather” comments made in passing or the “How are you?” greeting that isn’t really a question, or a multitude of other meaningless words.

Not only that, as my father used to say, God gave us one mouth and two ears for a reason. In a discussion during Bible class yesterday, the women agreed that talking and learning seldom coexist. In other words, I need to be quiet in my heart and with my mouth if I want to learn anything. Meaningless words block my hearing.

There are times that talking through (or writing) all sides of a problem or perplexing issue helps me understand it, but once I do, it is time to be quiet and think about it, not keep talking.

With that in mind, it is time to get off the computer. I’m not in the habit of rotten or crude language, but I do need to meditate about how I can make my words more useful.