Wholesome and Holy Conversation

UV 1080/10,000 I Peter 1 v 15 Wholesome and Holy Conversation

But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

I Peter 1 v 15
Whenever we go to a physician, invariably he would ask us to open our mouths and say, “ Aah” loudly so that he can look into our mouths and discover the condition of our whole body with that one look. Similarly, the Lord examines our mouth from a spiritual angle every day. One of the important aspects of our personal sanctification is our conversation. Our conversation should be worthy of a king and a priest, worthy of us being called the elect of God. Our speech should confirm the profession of our faith. It should be worthy of the gospel. The Psalmist wrote, “ whoso ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God.” The uni-verse states that we should be holy in ALL manner of conversation. This implies that concurrently there are different modes and forms of conversation.

Our conversation with ourselves as our spirits, minds and bodies commune among themselves should be free from deceit, lust and covetousness or evil desire. Our inner conversation formulates our deepest motives and it should be pleasing to God and wholesome. Though it is hidden from the public domain, there should be nothing in it that would make us ashamed if it is amplified for others to hear. Our conversation with God is our prayer life, what we speak to the Lord under our breath as well as in specific times of prayer. Our conversation with God should be ordered after the template of the Lord’s prayer where we give all praise, glory and honour to the Lord, seek for forgiveness for our sins and the grace to forgive others, seek our daily need.
Finally, our conversation with others should be pleasant, helpful, not harmful, not full of vulgarity, rudeness or pride. Our words should reflect our humility, our graciousness, our faith, our hope, our character. We should be known for godly wisdom and not for slander, lies or wickedness. If we are in a particular company of people who are speaking ill or uttering profanities, let such words come from them but not from us as we will not be judged for their words as long as we do not join them in such banter. The word of God says that we will be judged for every word that is spoken to us. If we call our brother a “rascal” we will be guilty and deserving of the fires of hell. We will have to account for every word we speak. The litmus test whether we have an acid tongue or a wholesome one is whether whatever we say puts down people or does it take them to the next level of faith, optimism, confidence and goodness.

Prateep V Philip