The depraved taste hedges itself behind conscience, and declares that it is always right to speak the truth, and hence God cannot have meant that speaking the truth would be slander; but that in condemning evil-speaking and slander, as works of the flesh and the devil, He must have meant the speaking of that which is false, untrue. This is a great mistake; a slander is equally a slander, whether it be true or whether it be false, and is so regarded, not only in the law of God but also in the laws of civilized men. A slander is anything which is uttered with the intention of injury to another, whether true or false, and the laws of men agree with the law of God, that such injury to another is wrong.
Corrupt communications consist of all language which tends to deprave others physically, mentally, morally or religiously. So much of such language is spoken that by contrast we should be on the alert to counteract its influence. As the salt of the earth, we should express only such thoughts as have a seasoning, nourishing and preserving effect on people's bodies, minds and hearts. Words are the most potent things in the world; and the most potent words are those that express God's thoughts. So far as possible let us use our language to express God's thoughts only, and thereby we will prove a blessing to all rightly disposed hearts.
Psa. 5:9; 52:2; 73:7-9; 1 Cor. 15:33; Eph. 5:3, 4; Col. 3:8; 4:6; 1 Thes. 5:11; Col. 3:16; Deut. 6:6, 7; Mal. 3:16, 17; Prov. 15:7; Matt. 12:36, 37; Titus 3:2; Jas. 3:2-8; 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:1.
