“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29).
The old saying, “Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me” is a lie. Broken bones heal within weeks but words leave scars that can last a lifetime. Words have tremendous power to hurt or to heal.
The word “unwholesome” is used of a tree that produces no good fruit. Here it describes words that tend to corrupt others. I had read this Scripture quite often when my wife, Gwen, caught something I had missed, and it is a key thought. She noted the words “according to their needs.”
We are to frame our words with the needs of the other person in mind because our goal is to benefit them. It’s so easy to speak out of our own needs and not take the time to understand where the other person is coming from.
Our talk is to be helpful and that only happens when we pay attention to what the other person needs. When our ears are both sensitive to the Holy Spirit and sensitive to others we can speak words that benefit those who listen.
