In the previous verse, sexual immorality and greed were totally off-limits for Christians (Ephesians 5:3).  They are both complaints against God, effectively saying that He has not provided properly for people He loves; that we are better off getting what we want for ourselves.  Put like that, such behaviour seems rather selfish - which it is.  Adding to the list of self-centredness is today's catalogue of verbal evil.  'Obscenity' really means speaking wrongly without any shame; 'foolish talk' means stupid words; and 'coarse joking' means exactly what it says.

All this can be found in the staff-room, the coffee lounge, the bar and canteen; it can be heard at the 'corporate-social' and in team-bonding encounters.  It is not just 'lads being lads' because the mouth-style is neither gender nor age specific.  It cannot be defended by, "I didn't mean it", because it is intentional even if it is an accepted personal habit. And it is not confined to the shop floor because it can also be heard from the lips of artists, professionals, business executives, traders, academics and artisans; from those in public office and private businesses. It may be blatant, or it might be sanitised or cleverly inserted into conversation.  Whatever and however it is uttered, it should not be - if you are a Christian!

Words matter.  With words, God created everything and ordered this world to be a home for humanity (Genesis 1:1-27).  With words He gave His law to His people through Moses (Exodus 20:1-17).  With words the gospel is communicated (Ephesians 1:13).  With words we shall all give an account of our lives before King Jesus.  It is no accident that the Son of God is referred to as the Word.  He is described in John 1:14 as being "…  full of grace and truth".  Anything less than that is not the standard for Christians.  Jesus said, "… I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:36-37)

The only antidote to the selfish mouth starts with a revolution of thankfulness in the heart.  When we shift the focus from making ourselves look big to realising how big and kind and generous and loving God has been to us, thankfulness should start to creep in.  And the more thankful we are, the less we will want to indulge in silly talk.  Apart from anything else, we will start to feel shame because we will remember that the Lord is listening too.  So, don't get sucked into the style of conversation around you - just tell people how kind the Lord has been to you ... it may start a revolution in their thinking too.