Ephesians 4.32 “And be ye kind one to another”

I Corinthians 13.4 “Charity suffereth long and is kind”

Kind: To show oneself mild, to be kind, use kindness.

I see a social phenomenon that troubles me. It is the habit some develop under the guise of humor or teasing that puts another person down so the person with inferiority can feel better about themselves.

Many barbed statements are communicated and then at the end, the attached “lol” is supposed to soften or deny the intent of the barb. By this means many people who do not feel good about themselves, or feel inferior, seem to put others down so they can feel better about themselves.

In my opinion this habit of teasing has a subtil purpose. Possibly it becomes a habit and the person may not ever realize they do it. Possibly they are in an environment where it is constant so they join the verbal fray. Whatever the reason it goes against Biblical teaching of honoring and esteeming one another.

I will possibly be looked at in this post as a “knit picker” or overly critical or even someone who cannot take the banter. However, let me take a Biblical approach. That is always safe šŸ™‚

Is there Biblical teaching on this matter? Yes, there actually is. As a christian we are instructed to act and speak to one another in kindness. We are made to know from many places in scripture that our words are important. They can heal and they can wound.

There are times when the person who is the butt of the remark smiles and shows a good spirit, but down inside they feel the sting or hurt.

Are we big enough as Apostolics to look in the mirror and acknowledge this is part of living for God also? There are some inward standards that are important as well as our outward standards of dress and life style.

Putting another child of God down through humor or teasing them can indeed have consequences spiritually. We are judged by how we judge others. If we criticize, demean, make unkind jokes, and generally speak unkindly of others, well that is what gets delivered in our spiritual mailbox!

Colossians 4.6 Let your speech be always with grace…(grace here means: that which affords joy, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness).

I am an advocate of kind words, upbuilding words, words that encourage another pilgrim on the road to the Celestial City! Let’s help one another get to heaven by making their journey lighter and easier!

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord…

Thanks for reading today…

Advertisement