“Let your speech always be gracious.” – Colossians 4:6

Words have the power to change the world. Everywhere you go, words are being shouted at us. Whether it’s on a billboard, in the music we listen to, the books we read and who we communicate with, we are always reading, listening and ingesting words that are then stored inside our brain and projected out into our life.

Have you ever noticed that when you talk to a little kid, they mimic you? It’s how they learn how to speak and whoever they are around, determines what they learn and how they act. The same follows us into adulthood. Depending on the people we are around and what we subject ourselves to is how we act and speak.

What kind of music do you listen to? Who do you hang out with? What do you watch? How do these factors contribute to how you act and speech when surrounded by them?

Are these songs filled with slander? Do people curse in your TV shows? Cursing and explicit content isn’t anything foreign to us. A lot of people do it around us all the time. It’s common to go on social media or turn the TV on and see a person using bad language.

It’s hard to escape curse words and bad language completely since we are always surrounded by it. However, we can control what we listen to, watch and who we surround ourselves with. Instead of blasting the music with the swear words we can choose to exchange it for different music that doesn’t swear. Instead of watching the TV shows with explicit content we can change it for a show that has softer and kinder language.

I’m not saying you have to completely ditch everything you love and cherish, just because it may be bad for you. I’m just saying to be aware of it. God doesn’t like it when we use His name in vain, use bad language and immerse ourselves in those types of acts. What we hear and listen to influences us and God doesn’t want us to change who we are depending on who we are with or what we are doing. He wants us to represent Him and be Christ-like towards ourselves and others at all times.

In Ephesians 4:29 it says, “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.”

Next time you read a book, listen to music, watch TV or are around someone, pay attention to the language that is used. Is it healthy for you? Are you best representing a follower of Christ? Ask yourself those questions and act accordingly.

You want the love of God flowing out of those lips, not slander.