I have always found this interesting.
Why is it that people think that certain actions or WORDS that, I guess, would be ok outside of a church building all of a sudden turn bad or wrong once you are inside the building? When I get to thinking about it… its quite troubling and humorous!
And this happens pretty regularly. I hear people say things like “man, don’t talk like that in a church.” or “you’re not supposed to say that in church.”
I appreciate the attempt at respect. But I am more concerned at the major misunderstanding.
The church has never been a building; its always been a bride… a body… a community… a people.
If something is wrong in a church building, then it is most likely wrong outside of it too.
Listen to what the Bible says in Ephesians 5:4:
“Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.”
This is so helpful to this discussion. There is a type of talking that is out of place. That is why I said I appreciate the attempt at respect. But where is out of place? Not in the building. A building is a building. God lives in hearts not buildings.
So where is out of place? In our lives! In our walks. In verse 1, we are told to be imitators of God. God never spoke inappropriately, and we should not either. In verse 2, we are told to walk in a certain way. Verse 4 is a continuation from that. Wrong, bad, dirty, filthy, inappropriate speech is out of place. But not in a building… in your life.
So, lets clean it up. CLEAN UP YOUR WAY OF TALKING. Ephesians 5:4
Be slow to speak. Let your words be few. Guard your tongues. If necessary, put your hand over your mouth.
Because according to God, its out of place in your life.