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Idols are persons, places and things that we turn to when we should have turned to God. They may be devices that get dull, treasures that fade away; anchors that don't hold; images that melt; footholds that slip and slide; or words taken in vain.
Words we turn to (or hide behind) to get our way are like idols we worship to get favors. We long to be liked, so we go to the god of gossip. We need attention, so we nurse the gods of profanity, vulgarity and coarse joking. We want to feel big and to make others feel small, so we genuflect to the gods of name-calling and verbal abuse. We want to manipulate the feelings and actions of others, so we bow to the gods and goddesses of flattery. To feel superior, we serve the god of grumbling, causing us to complain about the many flaws of others and ignoring our own. To avoid just consequences, we sacrifice our integrity on the altar of deception to the "father of lies" (Satan is the “father of lies“, John 8:44).
These idols merely leave us smudged with smut and tarnished with truculence. Shouda' turned to Jesus! >
Below are the top ten (or bottom ten) idols of speech we turn to when we should have turned to Jesus:
1. Profanity: Dragging sacred realities, words and ideas through the gutter. Pulling what is lofty and divine down to lowly realms (Exodus 20:7).
2. Obscenity: Offending the modesty of others, glorifying indecency and being lewd (Ephesians 4:29 and 5:4).
3. Vulgarity: Referencing or revealing bodily functions or private parts in public discourse. Crude talk or behavior (2 Samuel 6:20).
4. Gossip: Spreading news to discredit others, behind their backs of course. Being a tattle-tale or trafficking in rumor, hearsay (Romans 1:29 & 1 Timothy 5:15).
5. Careless words: Insensitive, useless, idle, tasteless, thoughtless, slanderous, or blasphemous speech (Matthew 12:36, some scary words from Jesus).
6. Coarse joking: Attempting to use humor to offend or insult decency. Foolish talk (Ephesians 5:4).
7. Grumbling: To murmur or mutter in discontent. Constant complaining. (James 5:9 & Jude 1:16).
8. Verbal Abuse: Hostile, violent verbal digs & assaults on others (Colossians 3:8 & 4:6). Also, name-calling (Matthew 5:22).
9. Flattery: Complimentary speech or attention to ingratiate ourselves with others, insincere or excessive praise and smooth talk (Proverbs 29:5, Romans 16:18, Jude 1:16). A form of self-flattery is boasting (Psalm 12:3).
10. Lying: Twisting truth, inflating issues, exaggerating situations, misrepresenting facts, being phony and uttering falsehoods (Proverbs 26:28, John 8:44, & Ephesians 4:25).
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