T.H.I.N.K?

          Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.  Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” (II Timothy 2:16-19)

          Some folks say that we should T.H.I.N.K. before we speak. We should ask ourselves

Is it True?

Is it Helpful?

Is it Inspiring?

Is it Necessary?

Is it Kind?

          If it’s not all of those things, we should keep our mouths shut. Of course, what I think is true, helpful, inspiring, necessary, and kind may not be what you consider true, helpful, inspiring, necessary, or kind.

The last is perhaps the most dangerous for us, because we often define “kind” as giving someone what they want to hear. I’ve heard “kind” defined as lending someone else your strength. So it’s kind to take someone by the elbow and lead them away from something that isn’t good for them – even if they want that something. It’s kind to deny something bad to someone. But that’s not what we’re told.

          In today’s passage, Paul gives us a slightly different, negative list. He says not to engage in godless chatter because godless chatter

Leads to people becoming more and more ungodly

Spreads like gangrene

Involves departure from the truth

Destroys the faith of some

Sadly, there’s no acrostic that can go with this one. At first glance, the first list seems like the better list, but is it? There is a lot of opinion in the first list. It is concerned with the feelings of the person being told. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but again, we face the problem illustrated by the term “kind.” The second list tells us to avoid talk that has one of the four outcomes. I could tell you that the consumption of alcohol is healthy. That statement could fit the entire first list, but if that statement is then circulated amongst a bunch of alcoholics, the outcome is likely to be bad. I could tell you that some other behavior is natural and considered by many to be normal. But the outcome could be disastrous to the health and wellbeing of lots of people.

When we talk to ourselves, the need to focus on outcomes and not feelings is even more vital. We too often convince ourselves that something is true. Peanut butter has protein in it. I can tell you that peanut butter is helpful, inspiring, and necessary. We say we should be kind to ourselves, but it tends to mean indulging ourselves. More peanut butter! If the outcome is to lead us to turn to peanut butter for comfort instead of God we’re engaging in godless chatter.

When the going gets tough, it’s easy to turn to acronyms like T.H.I.N.K. and there is value to them, but before we worry about that, perhaps we would do well to think about the outcome.