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I talk too much. Some talk too little, and others talk too much.
I’m on the plus side!
On the “talk scale” of edifying conversations, with “1” great and “10” terrible, I score a “10” most days.
Before I sleep at night, I take a short period of reflection on my conversations of the day. I consider whether I inserted opinions when they weren’t needed or wanted, attempted humor that didn’t edify, shared too much information about myself, or just didn’t listen.
Some days I score a “16!”
Years ago, I attended a conference on developing small groups in the church, and they discussed dealing with an “EGR” person in the group. EGR stood for Extra Grace Required. We have all associated with people who required extra grace. They had unwanted opinions, jokes that fell flat, endless stories about themselves, and always interrupted.
Extra Grace Required.
Then I realized, “Hey, that’s me on days when I clock a “10” or more in conversations. I’m being an EGR.”
So, I flipped the EGR rating to help me become more edifying when I talk to you or anyone else. I now pray before social events or individual discussions, “God, help me speak words of Encouragement, Grace, and Revelation.
EGR or Encourage, Grace, and Revelation.
Encourage …
Let’s encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near (Hebrews 10:25, NLT).
The word “encourage” in the Greek comes from the same word that Jesus used to describe the Holy Spirit. Jesus called the Spirit the Paraclete, which means “called alongside.” This is the same root word in the Greek that is translated as “encouragement.”
We are called alongside one another to stand close, uplift, support, and edify.
Grace …
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear (Ephesians 4:29, NASB1995).
Do our words extend grace? Grace means “favor,” and it is also used for “gifts” in the New Testament. We are called alongside one another to give the gift of favor.
I ask the Lord before my conversations to sound an alarm in my Spirit when my words stop giving grace, favor, and gifts. I ask myself at the end of a conversation, “Did my words give grace? Did the person feel uplifted because of talking with me?”
Revelation …
But if I bring you a revelation or some special knowledge or prophecy or teaching, that will be helpful (1 Corinthians 14:6, NLT).
I believe that God wants me to speak His supernatural words in my conversations. God wants all of us to say words of revelation to one another.
Have you ever been in a conversation, and you knew that God was speaking through you? Someone recently sent me a message about a time I spoke to his son. He said …
I was just visiting my son. He has a strong walk with the Lord, and it all started when you took time after a Sunday service to answer his questions about Jesus. He accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior the next week. He asked me to let you know that He is grateful for that conversation.
On some days, I do have EGR conversations! They are my best days.
Pray the following before you start your day tomorrow …
God, let me have EGR conversations today. Let my words Encourage, extend Grace, and give your Revelation to everyone I talk with today.
I will still have days that are a “12” or worse. We all will have bad conversation days, so let’s give ourselves grace as well.