Kidzablaze Devotions

Romans 1:28-31

28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,

29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips,

30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,

31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;

God wants our speech to be pleasing to Him. That leaves no room for idle talk or mean-spirited words, which are far from pleasant; we are to “put aside” such talk (Colossians 3:8).

In Romans 1, the apostle Paul is reminding believers that God has revealed Himself to all mankind and called us to be saints. In today’s passage, gossip is one of a number of actions we should turn away from. Take a moment to read Paul’s list in its entirety. Nothing there is appealing, of course, and every action named does great harm to us and our witness. Yet we are all guilty of committing them at times, aren’t we? We choose to envy what others have, to lie, to be unloving, or to spread gossip.

In Ephesians 4:29, the apostle Paul describes how we should speak: “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.”  Before you speak, ask yourself, Does this glorify God? Does this uplift and encourage others? And pray, requesting that the Lord guide your tongue so your words will point others to Him.

Gossip achieves no good in anyone’s life, which is why the Lord warns against it. Instead, our words should build up, comfort, and encourage others.