Possessing a quiet dignity is an element of having a sober character. This daily devotional shows two ways that plays out through the words we use.
Nuggets
Our quiet dignity is impacted by our conversation, determining our purity and holiness.
We must be very careful in swearing oaths to ensure they are not abusing God’s name or giving into temptation.
To read devotions in the Redo for Godliness series, click the appropriate button below.
Devotions in the Moralities Lead to Godliness series
We are augmenting our look at Manton’s sermon entitled The Moralities of Christianity with Bird’s Christian Morality. We’ve already added diligence to the mix. Now we are adding being sober.
Bird wrote that sobriety “… does not refer to what we call temperance. It is that calm, quiet dignity which so well befits a Christian man, and which raises him above the flighty, giddy, thoughtless throng of worldly people. There is something noble in his character.”
Resources
We’ve looked at being sober — or having self-control — several times. It sounds like there is more to it than that.
But this is a devotion that I call a potpourri devotion. The verses I am looking at aren’t really meshing together. So, let’s see what each have to tell us.
Let's Put It into Context
The definition of moral, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior.” Morality, then, is “a doctrine or system of moral conduct.” When it is the plural form — moralities — it is a “particular moral principles or rules of conduct.”
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Our morals determine our character. Character, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “the complex of mental and ethical traits marking and often individualizing a person, group, or nation.”
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Sober is a character trait distinguished by self-control, genuineness, and sound moral judgment. It is a calm and temperate disposition. From Bird’s definition, we can add noble dignity.
Glossary
Words that Build Us Up
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Eph. 4: 29 ESV)
Our quiet dignity is impacted by our conversation, determining our purity and holiness.
We just got done looking at this verse in another devotion in this series. We looked at it then as fostering peace.
Verse Commentary
If we look at it this time as our quiet dignity is exhibited through our conversation, we see that as an argument for guarding our speech. Words are an inward and outward expression. What comes out of our mouths is a product of what is inside us. We act out through our words.
When we think about the “… but only such as is good for building up …” (Eph. 4: 29 ESV) part, I wonder how many times we consider this only to be implying we are talking about someone else. You know, if you can’t say something nice, don’t say it.
I wonder if we ever consider how what comes out of our mouths build us up or tears us down. Our self-talk doesn’t even have to come out of our mouths. It can just roost in our minds.
Heygate noted the difficulty in guarding our speech. He wrote, “No doubt one cause of this carelessness is the difficulty of the work; but another is disbelief in its necessity. We cannot bring ourselves to believe that words are acts.”
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Pulsford reminded us the damage done when corrupt things come out of our mouths. The corruption is no longer just in us. It is now is others, also. Spreading the corruption is not what God has in mind.
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Rogers expanded that to say that our corrupt conversations defile us as well as on others. “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person” (Mt. 15: 11 ESV). That makes us unclean.
Glossary
If we are unclean, we are not pure. If we are not pure, we are not holy.
If we are not holy, we are not godly.
Yeah, just because of what comes out of our mouths.
God wants us to show His grace to others. “… that it may give grace to those who hear” (Eph. 4: 29 ESV). This replaces our corrupt language, which is
- Profane, irreligious, or immodest discourses
- Language that slanders and defames
- “… compliance with the faults of others” (Jortin)
- Prideful
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God wants us to use our conversation to tell others about Him, promote unity, and knit the family together.
Are Oaths Acceptable or Not?
“But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned” (Jas. 5: 12 NLT)
We must be very careful in swearing oaths to ensure they are not abusing God’s name or giving into temptation.
Okay, I need to look up what an oath is. Oh, I know it is, as the Easton Bible Dictionary says, “a solemn appeal to God …” Barrow said we are asking God to be our witness.
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Oaths are permitted when appropriate. “‘If you, Israel, will return, then return to me,’ declares the LORD. ‘If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, “As surely as the LORD lives,” then the nations will invoke blessings by him and in him they will boast” (Jer. 4: 2 NIV).
Elaine-speak on the requirements for the oath.
- Our relationships with God need to be right.
- We have to work on becoming clean and staying clean.
- We need to swear in a way that acknowledges God it is a living God.
In other words, it is very important that we get the oath right. We have to be totally within God’s Will.
Why is it so important? If the requirements are the if section, the then section is nations will be blessed.
No, not just the people involved in the oath. It is nations — plural — who will be blessed.
But how does that mesh with Matthew 5: 34? “But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne” (Mt. 5: 34 NIV).
Barrow addressed this. He said that abusing God’s name and challenging His authority is a sin.
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Plummer gave us a big caution. He contended that “the use of oaths is an index of the presence of evil; it is a symptom of the prevalence of falsehood.” Evil is equated with sin because it is that which goes against God and His purposes.
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What I am reading that to mean is the situations in which we feel we must use oaths many have an element of temptation in it. Temptation is a suggestion in our mind that would lead us to sin rather than following God’s Will. It is also that period of time between conception and execution of doing what is sinful.
Well, think about it. When do we feel we have to take oaths? Sometimes, isn’t it when we are in some sort of trouble? Deems argued that we put our confidence in the oaths, not in God.
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We need to make sure we are resisting Satan’s temptations.
Making the Connections
Barrow contended that our swearing should be seen as worship. He was talking about oaths — really, it should be applied to all of our conversations. He wrote it “… piously [acknowledges] His principal attributes and special prerogatives; it also intimates a pious trust and confidence in Him.”
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Did you see the word attribute? Yeah, character trait. Everything we do must imitate God. Everything we say must follow His character.
How Do We Apply This?
- Keep our confidence in God, not ourselves — either words or actions
- Guard our tongues so only build up who we are talking with, including ourselves
- Worship God with all we say
- Be modest and sober
Resource
Okay, so back to quiet dignity. I think these verses took us on the scenic route, but we can see how important our words are. Whether we build ourselves and each other up or tear us down — whether we feel we have to use an oath to et us out of trouble, our words must point to God.
Father God. We want to follow you. What are words to encourage others to see you and us. Help us to guard our witnesses to have the impact needed to expand Your kingdom.
What do you think?
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