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Wholesome


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 hear. (Ephesians 4:29)

          I’m sure I’ve said before that when I’ve objected to the foul language that people use, some have claimed that the word has no meaning except what I give it, so if there is a negativity involved, it’s my fault, not theirs. Fortunately, I don’t run into such people very often, but the question I want to ask them is why they put such energy, so often, into saying something that has no meaning. Most of the time, verbal fillers like “um” and “uh” are not give lots of energy in a sentence. I remember in junior high school overhearing a fellow student sharing her enthusiasm as she was teaching her baby sibling to say the same word.
          A lifetime ago, “good” folks didn’t use bad language in public. Society today sniggers at the “wholesomeness” of that time, especially as represented in the media. I don’t think it was really wholesome, it used suggestion and innuendo. There were things you didn’t talk about then, just as there are things you don’t talk about now. They just seem to have changed places. You can take the Lord’s name in vain or judge them as standing damned for all eternity, but don’t you dare suggest that her behavior might be of the sort that would result in her damnation or say anything about the color of his skin or his insistence on making his sexuality not only a matter of pubic record, but an avenue of compulsory honor for him. [1]
          If our speech is to be wholesome, what does wholesome really mean? According to the dictionary, it refers to something that is conducive to good physical, emotional, mental, and moral health. I’ll add social health. So wholesome talk revolves around things that promote the welfare of the individual and society. I need to do some thinking about this one, because I suspect my speech isn’t as wholesome as it could be.

[1] As an aside, I’ll note that I think it is a good thing that the LGBT+ community has come out of the closet, but the results have been artificially skewed. What should have opened the topic for discussion has resulted in the door to conversation being slammed in people’s faces. Only two options are available – approval and celebration. Those who don’t approve and celebrate must go into the closet that the LGBT+ have vacated.

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