On the list of what to avoid is foolish talking or coarse jesting. If there was ever any group who threw caution to the wind in this it is the Pentecostals. In fairness, not all Pentecostals are guilty, but an increasing number of people are taking foolish talk and coarse jesting to a ridiculous height. I remember two cases that were reported to me recently. One was reported to have said that Judas has said there would be no Easter this year because he can’t accept 30 pieces of silver to betray Jesus. In other words, the betrayer needs a raise! On another occasion, a man was asked to take an offering in church. He announced that for any believer to be poor means that their angel is lazy. So they were going to take an angel-sacking offering! It is one thing to be ignorant or foolish, but it is terrible to be arrogantly so. One angel sacked an entire national army of 185,000 soldiers. Is that who an ignorant person wants to sack? There is a fault when we reduce holy things to a comedy show. How we need to appreciate the fact that not everything with entertainment value has Gospel value. Not everything that entertains equally edifies.

Conscious effort is required so that what issues forth from our mouth tends only to life, not only for the speaker but also the listeners. What is more, the words we speak have eternal consequences?

There are reasons why extreme caution is needed when we talk. Not the least is the fact that the power of life and death lies in the tongue. Conscious effort is required so that what issues forth from our mouth tends only to life, not only for the speaker but also the listeners. What is more, the words we speak have eternal consequences? Jesus warned against idle talks for the reason that every such words will be accounted for before His judgment seat. It is by our words that we are either justified or condemned.