November 1st Devotion

Is it Time to Change Your Conversations?
By Clarence L. Haynes Jr. 

“Avoid godless chatter because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.” - 2 Timothy 2:16

When I was younger, people used to tell me I should be a lawyer because I always liked a good debate. If I had a position I believed in, I would defend it and fight to the end to hold my ground, no matter what. Well, I never became a lawyer, but that innate desire to win an argument or prove a point still dwells within me. However, as I have gotten older (hopefully wiser), I realize there is great wisdom in knowing when it is time to stop talking. One specific type of conversation we all need to reduce and remove from our lives is godless chatter.

What is godless chatter?
The word for godless chatter can also mean empty talk, empty disputing, or worthless babble. Here is how this verse reads in other translations.

“But avoid all irreverent babble and godless chatter [with its profane, empty words], for it will lead to further ungodliness” - (AMP)

“Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior.” - (NLT)

Godless chatter can be irreverent. It can be profane, but most of all, it is worthless and has no value in your life. I used to drink a lot of punches. Fruit punch, berry punch, tropical punch, you name it, I was drinking it. I would drink a half gallon every couple of days. What I didn’t realize was how many calories were in these drinks. I discovered I was consuming empty calories. They were increasing my daily calorie intake and my waistline, but they weren’t providing any real nutrition in exchange. Thankfully, I don’t consume juice like that anymore. Godless chatter is the same thing. You may exchange words and engage in conversation, but they are not building you up. They are just empty calories.

How do you know when it is godless chatter?
Looking at this verse closely reveals an indicator that will tell you when you are engaging in godless chatter. When your conversations are godless, your behavior will be as well. Godless chatter leads to godless behavior. When godless words and conversations come from your mouth, godless activities will soon follow. If you don’t believe me, let me give you just one example from recent memory—the decision to wear a mask or not wear a mask during COVID-19. Just me saying that may generate some emotions in you, and if it does, I want you to hold on to those emotions for a moment.

During COVID-19, Christians were getting into many disputes over whether or not to wear a mask, and you may have been involved in some of those disputes. People viewed wearing a mask through many lenses. Political, spiritual, and every other lens you can imagine. I know this firsthand because many people reached out to me to share their thoughts on wearing a mask, those for it, those against it, and everything in between.

For a moment, remove the thinking about ‘to mask or not to mask’ and think about the level of division this issue caused among Christians. It led to fights, arguments, disagreements, churches splitting, and people leaving the church. Some pastors would not let anyone in their building unless they wore a mask. At the same time, other pastors threatened to throw anyone out of their building if they came in with a mask. Some might say it wasn’t about a mask. It was about something bigger. If something bigger led you to godless actions, then the core of that activity was godless chatter.

You might think this was all warranted behavior. However, from what Paul told Timothy, we can judge the worth and value of the conversation by looking at the actions that come from it. The reason this was godless behavior is that it led to quarrels, fights, and division. Even if the discussion was worthwhile, the actions that accompanied it proved it was an ungodly conversation. Try as you might; there is no way to justify that as godly behavior. Especially when Jesus said the world will know we are his disciples by how we love one another.

Intersecting faith and life:
If we are going to put Paul’s word into practice, then that means we must know when it is time to stop talking. That may mean walking away from arguments, even the ones you know you can win. You do this because you are more concerned about godly living and upholding Christ’s reputation than being right, regardless of who you trample in the process. We have witnessed the consequences of people trying to prove themselves right, and it has done nothing to bring glory and honor to the name of Jesus. I challenge you from this point forward; let’s commit to being men and women who will engage in godly conversations that spur on godly behavior. Honestly, this is our only choice because, as we have seen, the alternative is not too pretty.

Sometimes your wisdom is displayed not by the words you choose to say but by the words you don’t.