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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for
“The Trap of Eutrapelia”
Hello, I’m
Avoid the trap of eutrapelia.
What on earth is eutrapelia?
It’s a Greek word found only one time in the Bible.
It basically means wittiness, and here’s the thing. Being witty can be good or bad. It can make conversation more pleasant and interesting; or on its dark side, it can be coarse or indecent, even vulgar.
In Ephesians 5:4 eutrapelia has been translated as “coarse jesting.” Coarse means vulgar or crude or in bad taste.
So in essence the Bible is saying that we should not be witty in crude or vulgar ways.
Have you ever heard of the “double entendre”? It can be taken two ways, one decent and one indecent. In that case, Christians should not be dealing in double entendres.
Do you snap off one-liners that are a bit on the crude side? Do you share bawdy jokes? These are not fitting for saints.
Beware the trap of eutrapelia.
That’s the trap you find yourself in when your wittiness slides to the dark side, to coarse jesting.
I think it becomes a habit of thinking. I’ve known guys like this. They are witty, intelligent men, and they slide into the habit of using their wittiness to take every routine situation and turn it into a bawdy joke.
I’ve seen Christian men fall into this, even pastors. You’re just talking along and all of a sudden they surprise you with something you didn’t expect to come out of their mouth.
Well you didn’t expect it because it’s not supposed to be there, not in the mouth of any Christian. Coarse jesting is not fitting for saints.
Coarse means crude and it also means rough. Coarse jesting can be when you take a hack at someone, but hey, you are “only joking.” You say things that put someone down, maybe sarcastic things. You carefully cut into someone’s character, but you do it in a witty way. Everyone laughs, but what you did wasn’t funny. It was rough joking, and it has no place among Christians.
Many Christians are involved in politics, and the next thing you know they are falling into the trap of eutrapelia. They use their “rapier wit” against the other guys.
Listen to this explanation of eutrapelia. “It implies the dexterity of turning a discourse to wit or humor that ends in deceptive speech, so formed that the speaker easily contrives to wriggle out of its meaning…”
“Oh, that’s not what I meant.”
Often it’s a play on words, which is the playground of the witty. Wisely playing on words can be a good thing, but it’s easy to do it foolishly and hurt people. That should not be the speech of a Christian.
Colossians 4:6 is an awesome verse. It says, “Let your speech always be with grace…”
Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”
So, let your speech always be with grace, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
First Timothy
The things we say should impart grace to anyone listening, and we must be mindful that everything we say sets the example for others.
It doesn’t matter if you are a 40-year pastor or a brand new Christian, the things you say become an example for others. If you use your wit for double entendres or racy humor, you are setting the example for others to do the same, and it’s not good.
You know what? Smart people are the wittiest, but they should also be smart enough to see why their wit needs boundaries. Wit must be controlled so that, in the end, any witty thing we say is said with grace.
So are you one of the witty ones? Then this warning is for you.
Beware the trap of eutrapelia.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m
© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision App
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