Living Room Debate on Truth
February 9, 2014:
Ephesians 4:29 reads, "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers."
Something interesting in our family devotion took place this evening. For some reason, as I was going through Ephesians 4:25-31, it dawned on me to point out specific instances when each of us violate the admonitions Paul was saying to the Christian believers at Ephesus.
For instance, when we talked about lying, I spoke to them about the scene with Jesus and the woman at the well in Samaria. The kids, especially the youngest, were very interested in what Jesus had to say about the truth of the woman's words. They wanted to be clear about the difference between a half-truth (lies) and the "present truth". Like the statement of the woman about not having a husband, when in fact, she had had five husbands and was presently living with a man who is not her husband. Jesus stated that in this, she has spoken truly.
Thus the debate and the questions poured in. Different scenarios were made up to try to understand if the woman lied or spoke truly like Jesus said. I believe these discussions are so important and it is what makes our family devotions a learning as well as a worshipful experience for all of us.
Obviously, my son wanted to use this knowledge when he makes creative ways of not telling us a lie but rather, a present truth like the woman's response. Uh-oh. We also talked about the corrupt words that we say, specifically, the slang word 'dang'. They said that there was no alternative to saying it as an expression of emotion and that they would sound weak if they uttered a neutral guttural sound instead of it. I'm glad they revealed this false idea. We were able to make sure everybody understood that this word is rooted in the word 'damn'. And that such a curse is not to be taken lightly, "For God so loved the world that He gave up His only begotten Son..." and "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."
We were able to clear up the lie that the world and the media portray. It is not weakness when one is able to control one's speech during times of wild emotion; especially anger or surprise. On the contrary, it is weakness when a person cannot control his tongue and just blurts out all the curse words that come out of his or her mouth during an emotional episode. At the very least, these conversations can get them thinking about what they would do as Christians when they are on their own.
I thank God for every day that we are able to do family devotions. We learn from God's word together. We learn from each other. We pray for and with each other to God who is in our midst. It is indeed a small glimpse of heaven because together, we are with the Lord.
Modesto Mendoza and his wife, Haydee, live in Houston, Texas with their three children. He is a teacher, engineer, and yokefellow who is, most of all, a child of the Living God.
