Prattle. 2 Timothy 2.16

Good Day. 

Think of all the voices you hear in a day … the audible ones, I mean, not just the ones in your head. Prattle.  So much of what we consume is just prattle.  Prattle |ˈpratl| noun - foolish or inconsequential talk

Yet, words matter … a lot. 

 Paul wrote, “Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.” 2 Timothy 2.16  Paul’s warning was quite clear.

You see, Paul grew up knowing the power of words.  Trained in the finest rabbinical schools in Jerusalem, under the most prominent of rabbis, Gamaliel, his vocabulary was no doubt vast and quite brilliant, certainly beyond the average person of the day.  I am confident that before he became a Christ follower, with the vigor and manner of a slick trial attorney, he easily intimidated or stymied any opponents.  (And of course we know that he had convinced the high priest to give him the authority to apprehend and arrest Jesus followers prior to Jesus intersecting his path on the Damascus road.)

Yet somewhere along the line, God taught Paul to measure his words, and mete them out in humility as well.  Thus Paul warned the Ephesians about speaking words that do not benefit those who listen; said more plainly, he warned about talking without saying anything of value.  He told the Corinthians to demolish pretentious arguments against the knowledge of God, and similarly had written to both Timothy and Titus about guarding against voices that peddled false doctrine. 

Here he tells Timothy to avoid godless chatter, because it would only take him down a wrong path.  Think about it—what does godless chatter look like to you? 

Perhaps godless chatter could be defined as:

--gossip

 --slander

  --vulgarity

   --lying

    --boasting  ~ Yes, I guess those would all qualify as godless chatter

 How about slicing another with criticism?

   --being argumentative, without a noble goal?

     --making fun at another’s expense?

       --having to best someone in a game of wit, or to prove you are right?

        --or as my dad used to say, ‘just rattling’? 

           (not saying anything of worth)

Godless chatter … what do you think is meant by the term?

Our Lord Jesus said, “But I tell you that men will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”¹  How about the idle words that I have ‘texted’—those too, Jesus?  Oh, my goodness.

From the wise teacher, Solomon – “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be silent and a time to speak .”²   Notice the order of those -- time to be silent, time to speak –hmmm ... And then King David’s son said something that really gives me pause, “Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.”³

Sometimes it is okay not to talk, not to voice an opinion, but rather be still.  Which leads me to another sacred thought,                                                      “Be still, and know that I am God.”⁴  So Lord, when I am quiet … when I refrain from prattle, am I more apt to know you are near, maybe even more likely to hear your voice?

Something to think about:  do you more often share words that benefit, or something else—something less?

God, help us to measure our words according to your standards and not our own.  We beseech you, O God!

In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Christine

^{1 – Matthew 12.36-37}

^{2 - Ecclesiastes 3.1, 7}

^{3 – Ecclesiastes 5.2}

^{4 – Psalm 46.10}