Have the words of Ephesians 4:29 ever kind of kicked you in the gut?

Ephesians 4:29 reads "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 listen." (NIV)

Lately the church has been doing work on refining it’s guiding principles. I shared them with a group of our leaders at this past weekends boot camp. It made me begin to ask the question, what are the principles that guide my life? and how do I know when I have violated them?

You see, many of our teams have guiding principles to keep them on track. Me being the big mouthed Peter type, often blurt out whatever I am feeling at the moment and that can have a habit of violating guiding principles like the one found above in Ephesians 4:29.

It happened to me yesterday during some heated discussions on some certian core directions we were discussing. It happened this weekend on Saturday night during our services when I violated our real, relevant, and enjoyable principle by letting the message err on the side of being a little less than enjoyable.

When I do these things, feelings range from a kick in the gut, to momma pulling on my ear and saying come on son.. Those Holy Spirit heart checks are helpful in keeping us on track.

I’ve often been right, yet been dead wrong in my presentation.

Ahh.. It is comforting to know that I haven’t arrived yet.

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