Task one: Unwholesome Talk
This will be a summer of purification. This will be a summer of refinement. Am I on a mission trip? No. Am I a stranger in an unknown land? No. Am I being pushed out of my comfort zone? No. I am home, living with my family and working 40 hours a week at a health insurance company. And yet I feel like it’s my biggest test yet.
“And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined. And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them: I will say ‘They are my people, and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.” -Zechariah 13:9
For the last four years He has been sculpting me. He has been growing my faith. He has been bringing the dark lies that I believed to light. Last summer He asked me to go spread His gospel to a dark world, East Asia. This summer He asked me to walk through fire, daily, hourly, minutely (I am not real sure if that is a word!)
First thing I learned: my pride isn’t the only thing that is hindering my relationships. One of the most influential verses I learned last year was:
“Pride leads to arguments; those who take advise are wise.” –Proverbs 13:10
Last year, I was having a lot of arguments with my mom and then…He whips out proverbs to show me that is was because of MY pride…but that was last semester. So I come home this summer praying desperately for God to humble me…but He shows me its not just about my pride…
Go figure, my sin is way more complex! When I live in college station, surrounded by the friends I have chosen I feel like a kind, loving person. I am sarcastic about myself and others, but my friends love it…they laugh, I feel good about myself…and yet, it is unwholesome. But I never knew it was unwholesome until May 28th rolled around.
I was camping with my family and I said something about something we had looking like “white trash”. Go figure…that hurt my mom’s feelings. Why shouldn’t it? That is a mean thing to say. However, if I was with my friends they would have laughed it off, knowing that I loved them and I didn’t mean what I said. My mom didn’t laugh it off. She confronted me. As my mom is confronting me, my flesh wants to get upset and say, “geez it was just a joke.” But then the Holy Spirit starts His work in me, and speaks this verse over me,
“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
Before this moment, I thought my mouth was cleansed of unwholesome talk. I thought that was only concerning sexual and crude jokes…which He had done a lot of changing in me my freshmen year. I thought I was done. I thought I was purified in that area. He said no. He said, “Sara, I am no longer letting you get away with this. I have brought you home this summer to bring you into a very hot fire. I have many areas to show you where thus far your fire has only been lukewarm. Your friends are only a lukewarm fire in the area of unwholesome talk.”
So refinement area one: Unwholesome talk...there isn't a check mark next to this because He's not finished.
4 comments:
Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. Ephesians 3:4
This is a hard one.
It is so easy to fall into the sarcastic trap. I know that we quote Ephesians 4:29 on a daily basis, even Alex can say the whole thing.
I heard a story, I may have already shared this with you about how when a silver smith is molding and refining his silver that he will hold the silver over the fire an exact amount of time, not too short or too long and he knows the right amount of time when he can see his reflection in the silver.
This is what God does with us when He is refining us. He will keep us in that fire just long enough for us to look like Him, not a minute longer.
I am so excited about all that He is showing you this summer and I can not wait to catch up.
I miss you and I love you!!!!!
It's as if you are still living in College Station, hearing the sermons at LH lately. Just last night at HOPE Group we were talking about how we are never done with this refinement thing. There really won't ever be a point where I am settled and good enough.
I gave up (okay, I tried to give up) sarcasm for lent one year and it was really hard, but it was one of my most fruitful Lenten seasons. I realized I was sarcastic more often than I realized and I was hurting both myself and others without even knowing it.
thanks for sharing....I like knowing what is going on in your life! i love you and miss you! : )
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