Giving the Devil a Foothold

Do not give the devil a foothold.

~ Ephesians 4:27, NIV

Let no corrupt word out of your mouth go forth, but what is good unto the needful building up, that it may give grace to the hearers.

~ Ephesians 4:29, YLT

In the King James Version, Ephesians 4:27 is translated, "Neither give place to the devil." The devil here is a personality, not a figure of speech. He is the accuser, the slanderer. Scripture says that he is to be given no room, no opportunity. Two verses later, we read, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." (v. 29) Corrupt communication is not limited to blasphemous talk, but includes speculative accusations, slanderous chatter, angry diatribes, unsubstantiated worries, and any untruth.

The mother of the runaway threw the door wide open for the devil with comments like, "Joe is going to take you away from me." She complained about Joe's house, about Joe's dogs, about his truck. She complained about KatieLyn's decisions.

And there was this directed at her daughter: "You don't want to fight in front of his friends because they will all side with Joe." That was really quite insulting to have KatieLyn's mom presume that the first year of married life is a series of fighting. Reportedly, it was for her, but it was not that way for me; I saw no indication that it would be that way for KatieLyn and Joe.

One thing that surprised me in looking back after KatieLyn ran off from the marriage was that I could not remember one single positive thing that her mom ever said about her. I remember a few comments about likes/dislikes, but I don't recall her ever saying Katie is good at   fill in the blank  . 

What I do remember is that one of the very first things her mother said compared KatieLyn to her older sister, saying that her sister was more popular and "always got quite a bit of attention, male and otherwise." The things that she did say about KatieLyn were prosaic. While perhaps not negative, they were not exactly "good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace" either. To hear her talk, KatieLyn's mother didn't have very much confidence in her. Joe always felt that KatieLyn's mother drastically underrated her.

Going around and expressing groundless "misgivings" and "concerns" is the kind of corrupt communication these Bible verses are addressing. That kind of junk is not supposed to proceed from your mouth. It is a direct command: Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths.

KatieLyn's mother talked problems, she talked defeat, she talked distrust, and she talked difficulties. She recited her uncertainties and reservations. She was not saying things that were good and helpful so that her words would be an encouragement to her daughter. Such speech and communication does not spring from a gracious heart, but from a fearful one. No wonder that after five months of hearing such down-talking KatieLyn was freaked out and ready to run off in the middle of the night!

The lesson for today's post is that when you endlessly talk about your fears, your doubts, and your worries, you are giving place to the devil. The devil will seize your words and use them to destroy God's plan.