Speak Not with Forked Tongue

GREEK WORD WITH ENGLISH TRANSLITERATION: διλoγος (dilogos)

PRONUNCIATION:  DIL-log-os

STRONG’S CONCORDANCE #: 1351

MEANING: double-tongued; two-worded

ENGLISH WORDS DERIVED FROM: dialogue (2-way speaking)

BACKGROUND OF WORD (ETYMOLOGY): two Greek words meaning "two-worded" of "double-tongued"

HOW TRANSLATED IN KJV AND/OR ESV:  double-tongued

# OF TIMES USED IN THE GREEK NEW TESTAMENT: 1

VERSES IN THE BIBLE WHERE GREEK WORD USED:

1 Timothy 3:8 - "Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued (διλόγος) ." ESV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

   

Do You Know People Who Talk Out of Both Sides of Their Mouths?  Have you ever known a person who agreed with whomever he was talking to at the moment? When they were with you, they agreed with you. But when they were with someone else who had a different opinion, they agreed with that person. Did that person's opinion fluctuate so quickly that it nearly shocked you?

It is very difficult to build trust with a person like this because you never know if they are really with you, or if they’re just agreeing with you to your face until they can turn around and disagree with you behind your back. This type of person's lack of integrity makes it difficult to build a significant relationship with them.

Even if I don't always like what others say or think, their honesty is very important to me, for it guarantees truthful relationships. The day someone tells me one thing but then turns around and tells someone something else is the day my trust in that person is disrupted. In 1 Timothy 3:8 the apostle Paul called this kind of person “double-tongued” (διλόγος).

This Greek word διλόγος (dilogos) for “double-tongued” is a compound of the words ‎di ‎and ‎logos‎. The word ‎di ‎means two, and the word ‎logos ‎means words. When compounded together, these two words form the word ‎dilogos‎, which could be literally translated two-worded. It is the picture of a man or woman who says one thing to one person but a different thing to the next. In other words, people like this are inconsistent in what they tell others. They are so wishy-washy that their opinion is constantly fluctuating, depending on whom they are speaking to at the moment.

This is usually an indication that this person is a people-pleaser. Because they want everyone to like them, they agree with whomever they are with at the moment. This is a serious character flaw. In fact, 1 Timothy 3:8 forbids us from giving this kind of person any prominent place of leadership in the ministry. It is also a principle that should be taken into consideration when looking for a prospective leader in any church, business, or organization.

Truthfulness is necessary so trust can be built between leaders and followers. It is compulsory in marriages, in friendships, and in relationships between employers and employees or between a pastor and his leaders. If a long-term relationship is to be built, trust is not optional — it is essential.

If there is a person in your church, business, or organization who is constantly changing what they say depending on who they are with at the moment, I urge you not to elevate this person into a leadership role. That person doesn't demonstrate the character that is required in leaders.

Being honest isn't always easy. Often it is very difficult. But truthfulness is the clearest and most noble path. The challenge we face is learning how to “speak the truth in love” as Ephesians 4:15 commands us.

I've learned that the truth isn't so difficult to hear; it is the way truth is sometimes spoken that can be difficult to hear. It is much easier to hear the truth if it is mixed with love, patience, and understanding. I think you know that cold water thrown in your face is not very enjoyable. In fact, it can be such a chilling experience that you may be tempted to throw it right back! So when you are the one speaking the truth to someone else, ask the Holy Spirit to help you know how to speak your opinion in a non-threatening and respectful manner.

In Ephesians 4:25, the apostle Paul commanded us, “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour....” In Greek, the tense of the word “speak” points to habitual action. In other words, God wants you to develop the habit of always telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God! If you are guilty of agreeing with whomever you are talking to at the moment, it's time for you to ask the Holy Spirit to help you overcome this weakness.

CHALLENGE FOR THE DAY:

Take time to “think before you speak” today.  If your opinion is required, be sure to speak exactly what you think and believe. And before you speak, pray for grace to speak the truth kindly. Once you have said what you believe, stick to what you said. If you later decide you were wrong, go back to the person you talked to — your pastor, boss, friend, or so forth — and tell him that you've changed your position. That person will appreciate your honesty. On the other hand, if you tell one person one thing and then turn around and say something different to someone else, the first person you spoke with will not understand your behavior. They will view you as a hypocrite who cannot be trusted, as someone who is double-tongued.

But what if you are the leader, pastor, or employer, and you have someone working under your authority who is constantly switching what they say, depending on whom they are talking to? In that case, take Paul's words to heart. Don't promote that person to a higher level of responsibility until this habit has been broken. Don't lay hands on a person who is double-tongued!

PRAYER OF THE DAY:

Lord, please forgive me for the times I have been two-faced and double-tongued, speaking different things to different people. I realize it is wrong to act this way with those who are over me in authority. They need to be able to rest assured that I am being truthful with them, and now I see that I have given them a cause to doubt my word. Forgive me, and please help me conquer this serious character flaw in my life. Holy Spirit, help me today to uproot this double-tongued tendency from my life. Teach me how to habitually speak the truth! I pray this in Jesus' name! Amen.

Are You Spiritually Exercised?

GREEK WORD WITH ENGLISH TRANSLITERATION: γυμνάζω (gumnazo)

PRONUNCIATION:  goom-NADZ-oh

STRONG’S CONCORDANCE #: 1128

MEANING: to train; to exercise; to be self-disciplined

ENGLISH WORDS DERIVED FROM: gymnasium

BACKGROUND OF WORD (ETYMOLOGY): a word used for those in training for the Greek games;

HOW TRANSLATED IN KJV, NASB AND/OR ESV:  exercise; train; discipline yourself

# OF TIMES USED IN THE GREEK NEW TESTAMENT: 4

KEY VERSE IN THE BIBLE WHERE GREEK WORD USED:

    

1 Timothy 4:7 – “Exercise (γυmμνάζω) yourself toward godliness.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

    

It takes hard work to get in good physical shape, and it takes a commitment to maintain a good physical condition. In the same way, it also takes hard work and commitment to maintain a good spiritual condition. Anyone who wants to get into good spiritual shape has to be diligent to exercise himself spiritually. This is why the apostle Paul told Timothy, “...Exercise thyself rather unto godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7).

The word “exercise” is the Greek word ‎gumnazœ‎, and it literally meant to exercise while stark naked or to exercise in the nude. It is a word that was developed from the word ‎gumnos‎, the Greek word that is literally translated naked. It is from these words that the English words gym or gymnasium are derived.

I realize that it may seem strange to our minds that Paul would use such a word, but to Timothy, this was a very powerful and graphic picture. You see, the word ‎gumnazœ ‎(“exercise”) was only used to describe the professional athletes of that day. By using this word, Paul was conveying a message to Timothy that was absolutely clear to the younger man.

Timothy was the senior pastor of the world's largest church during the first century. As pastor of such a massive church, he was working very hard. Nevertheless, Paul urged Timothy not to fantasize about things ever getting easier but instead to joyfully dive into the work with all his strength and might.

This may not have been the message Timothy wanted to hear. But instead of falsely telling the younger man that a day would come when things got easier, Paul admonished him to “exercise unto godliness.” And when Timothy saw the word “exercise,” he knew exactly what Paul was telling him. Professional athletes and their activities were quite famous in Timothy's day.

The word “exercise” (‎gumnazœ‎) was only used to describe the professional combat sports of boxing and wrestling. These athletes wanted the freedom to move their muscles without hindrance, and they didn't want to wear any items of clothing that an opponent could grab hold of to take them down. For these reasons, they exercised and competed naked.

These combat sports were so ferocious that when each competition ended, one of the competitors was usually dead. Knowing that a stiff, life-or-death battle awaited them, these athletes exercised and exercised and exercised to get themselves into the best possible physical condition. This included submitting themselves to self-imposed hardships in order to make themselves tougher. For instance, because the actual games usually occurred during the blistering hot temperatures of summer, the athletes trained in extremely hot temperatures so they could become acclimated to intense heat. And in order to become hardened to brutality, they would deliberately ask other athletes and trainers to viciously beat them. In this way, they could learn to take as much abuse as possible without allowing it to affect their performance in case they were wounded during the actual games.

Rather than look for the easy way out, these combat-sport athletes stripped off all laziness, all comfort, and even all their clothes so they could energetically exercise and drive themselves nonstop toward physical perfection. Only those who were the most fit would survive and win the games, so they approached hardship as a positive occurrence — an opportunity to develop their mental resilience, their stamina, their courage, their physique, and their staying power. To these professional athletes, hardship was a good thing, for if they properly responded to it, it could only make them better and, in the end, help them live a longer life!

This was exactly the message Paul was giving to Timothy when he told him to “...exercise thyself rather unto godliness.” Paul was telling the younger minister, “Don't run from the challenges before you or spend your time hoping to find an easier route for completing a very difficult task. Instead, strip yourself of all mentalities that would hinder your growth, and embrace this difficult time as an opportunity to spiritually exercise and to develop yourself in the Lord.” Paul knew what would happen if Timothy stripped wrong attitudes from his life and approached these challenges with the right attitude: The hardships he faced wouldn't hurt him but rather would assist in developing him and making him stronger.

But notice that Paul said, “...exercise thyself rather unto godliness.” The word “godliness” is the Greek word ‎eusebeia‎, a Greek word that describes piety, godliness, or a radical, fanatical devotion. In other words, Paul was telling Timothy, “Don't do just the average that others would do and get an average result. Put your whole heart and soul into developing yourself to the maximum level.”

CHALLENGE FOR THE DAY:

Our commitment to spiritual development is to be so intense that we literally exercise and exercise and exercise ourselves to the point of a radical, fanatical devotion to God. We must be as committed to our spiritual development as those professional Greek athletes were to their physical development.

Just as physical muscles are developed only through exercise, hard work, training, and commitment, it takes exercise, hard work, training, and commitment to become fit spiritually as well. This is why Paul urged Timothy to take his moment of hardship as an opportunity to stretch, develop, exercise, and make himself stronger.

Do you hear the Spirit of God speaking to you today? Is He telling you to change the way you are looking at your current hardships? You don't ever have to be depressed and defeated by the affairs of life. Just change the way you're looking at the challenges you face. Determine that you are going to use this time in your life to exercise your faith and become stronger in the Lord!

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

Lord, I ask You to help me change the way I've been looking at the hardships and challenges in my life. Yes, it's true that I don't enjoy them, but since I'm in this time of my life, help me use my time to the maximum by strengthening my faith and exercising myself spiritually. Rather than be broken by this difficult season, I want to come out of it stronger than ever. Holy Spirit, please help me today to change the way I am looking at life. I want to make a firm commitment to exercise myself unto godliness until I am so strong spiritually that nothing in life can stop me from fulfilling the dreams God has put in my heart. I pray this in Jesus' name! Amen.