Luke 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

I don’t watch reality television. I see the ads and I just don’t see the attraction. Watching others opening themselves up to ridicule doesn’t make sense to me. It does not make me happier to see others being silly about how they live life. Some actually flaunt their sins before viewers and that mystifies me to no end.

I think about the Pharisee from Luke 8 when I see these ads. It is a form of deflection; see I’m not that bad. But I am bad, I am a sinner. My forgiveness is not based on other people’s sins. I have to confess my sins in order to find forgiveness.

Do people really feel better about themselves by watching the train wreck that is other people’s lives? Well I am confused if they do. If I am laying in an emergency room with a broken leg, I won’t get relief by watching the guy in the bed beside me writhe in pain. We both need a shot.

People do all kinds of things to make themselves feel better don’t they? None of the application of pain relievers last. Eventually you feel the pain again. The only cure for inner turmoil is forgiveness for your own condition.

James 5:16a Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.

Colossians 4:6 Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

Definition of diction: choice of words, especially with regard to correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.

That definition leaves out many things that occur in conversations. What if you said “Right!” but your tenor was one of sarcasm? That changes the meaning doesn’t it? Speech can be regional. What a word means in Maine isn’t always understood properly in Texas. Louisiana residence might understand Creole even if they are not Cajun. The rest of us often wonder if we heard right.

A tosser conversation is one in which words are thrown without regard of listener. It does not matter if anyone is listening, you are just filling the awkward silence with the sound of your own voice. Grace speech on the other hand is to be used to communicate important information. Effectiveness is vital if you are trying to communicate love and concern. Comfort is not comfort if sincerity is not transmitted. That takes more than mere words.

Knowing how to respond to people does not come from a familiarity with a dictionary. It comes from a heart of compassion, empathy and relationship. The same words mean more coming from people who have proven relationships. Relationship is the foundation of effectiveness; otherwise it is just a drive by shout out.

Grace speech requires that grace is in you, that it has been spread abroad in your heart first. The way to give grace in receiving grace first.

John 1:16-17 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ