Hey, good afternoon, everyone. We're at the mic and we are pulling. Let's see. We're pulling an article. No, not that's that's not the right word. A long form. What did you describe it as a pamphlet? Almost booklet. Yeah. A long, long form. I think a long, long form from. David Schrock, who is one of the editors or podcasters at Christ Over All. He pastors up in Virginia, Northern Virginia. And guys, he has a conference on a one-day conference that he wants us to come up to in July. which might be a fun idea to go up there for one day. It's a four hour drive. So I don't know whether we could figure it out. I guess maybe we should get to the article instead of talking about the logistics of our trip on the podcast. But, um, you only have one page in front of us, Mike. So what did you do? So the title is 10 Words About Words, Getting a Grip on Godly Speech. And so he pulled together many thoughts in multiple scriptures to use our two hands to illustrate 10 different biblical points about speaking from a godly perspective. And then he wrote a lot about it. Yeah. It's an hour and 41 minutes to listen to the pot, the reading of it. Yeah. So we definitely were not going to read that. And so what I've done is I've just pulled out the 10 points and then one of the passages of scripture that went along with it. Okay. That's nice. Excellent. Um, who's not listened to it yet. I've listened to it. Mike, you have Brian, you have this morning. Okay. Yeah. Listen to it as well. All right. Very good. So, uh, Christ overall is the website. Christ overall is the podcast. We want to commend it to you, but it's pretty, is it pretty intellectual? Is it, Oh, yes. Yeah. Compared to some of the others that to just have a long form in and of itself and then alternate that with interviewing who wrote the long form. It's very much from a scholar perspective. Yeah, it's academic. Yeah. Yeah. Pastor, one of the things that's most helpful about the ministry that David Schrock, I would guess founded is that they pick a month and then they focus on one topic for the month. They're not worried about pushing out a lot of content. They're worried about pushing out quality content. Yeah, they call it evergreen content, and the idea with that is that it'll always be valuable to the body of Christ. It's not reaction to a current event that may not be applicable. All right, with the thumb, godly speech seeks wisdom. So he uses the thumb to represent wisdom. James 1.5, if any of you lacks wisdom, let ask God who gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given. Godly speech puts prayer first. Continue steadfastly in prayer, quoting from Colossians 4. Mike, I have to give you credit because the visual of having this paper in front of me makes a whole lot more sense than when I was tracking his article as I was listening to it, because he's like starting with the thumb and then I'm like, Well, he never got to the other thumb, but I didn't put together. I was listening to it at advanced speed, so I didn't pick up the fact that he was doing, you know, both thumbs at the exact same time, you know, giving the two together. So thank you for. Well, I had to do this for me for the same thing so I can visualize it. And then once I was doing that, then I was like, well, maybe we could just use this for the podcast. Yeah, no, this is helpful. So in other words, thumb number one is seeking wisdom. Thumb number two is praying. Yes, correct. And you have your hands up, Mike, you know, they can't see you, right? Two thumbs up. But again, it's for my visualization, even though you're talking about it. Does that help you that you see his thumbs up like that? I mean, yeah, it's visual. I'm here with him, so it's helpful for me now. Okay. But it's always just for me. So, but, but yeah, just for the idea of thinking through. Is everything always just for you or? Well, when it comes to visualization, most of the time, yes, because I'm over visual on that. But back to the part there, you know, to me, you know, just to have that understanding that, you know, when I talk, I need to have God's wisdom interlaid through what I'm saying. And part of that then is my communication with God and having those be the two opposable thumbs to the eight other points. So is this as simple as something like Nehemiah 1, where before he goes in to make the request, he just asked the Lord to bless what he's getting ready to do? Is it that simple? Some days, yes. But then some days, it's my ongoing private prayer closet conversation with God, and it comes out that way. One of the things I really like from the long form that he brought out was the way in which we actually use these different fingers. So like on the subject of the thumb, he talked about, you know, intelligent species have, you know, the opposable thumbs where they can, you know, reach out and grasp something. So on the point of knowledge, it's a reaching forward, seeking to grasp, to apprehend, to comprehend something. And then on the subject of prayer, it's, you know, think about using your thumb like in a hitchhiking motion. You're asking for help. You're seeking for somebody other than you to help you with something. So on that point, you know, as Pastor Mike just said, it depends on the day how that prayer looks. There's certainly seasons of more fervent, intentional prayer for specific things. And then other seasons of Lord, please help me. Lord, please glorify yourself in me today. As simple as that. Yeah. And, you know, as Mike was showing us, he, as he stuck his thumbs up, like, you know, the author, he addressed the fact of, you know, we use a thumbs up to, to provide an affirmation of something. It's good to go. It's got an approval. We've read your text message and that's the emoji we're responding with. you know, our culture has this universal sign of a thumb up means good. And so that's where he starts with, you know, like Darius said, the intelligence aspect of it, that this is where you should start, but this is also what is approved. And so that's kind of what David Schrock does throughout his article is he takes some of our hand gestures and what our fingers mean in our culture, and then you know, connects this, what's a biblical precept of how we use our words when we're speaking to other people. Super helpful. Oh yeah. Yeah. Cause that, that whole opposable thumb so that I need to have godly wisdom to use the other eight and I need to be communicating with God through prayer to use the other eight. Yeah. That just. The other four on each hand, right? But in theory still the other eight, all eight together there. Okay. Cause he's, yeah, he, it's kind of a marriage of them. So you got the two, but you're got all eight in between. Oh, okay. Great. Another visual. And we need to get, we need to get to those cameras, man. But you know, to the world has adopted a approach with the thumbs in this idea of there's this thing going around now where You know, what has two thumbs and does and you fill in a blank phrase and this guy and they'll point the thumbs back at themselves kind of kind of aspect. And, you know, it's a big thing these days. And if you kind of take it to that aspect a little bit with this is and you do it this way, you know, what has two thumbs and is not the smartest thing in the universe. and needs someone smarter to achieve any type of godliness, this guy. And if I'm going to be able to speak with truth, if I'm going to be able to defend the faith, if I'm going to be able to do any of the other fingers that usually extend out towards others, then I'm going to need first to have God's wisdom because I'm not the smartest person in the universe. And I'm not going to have that wisdom if I don't seek it from God. I can't achieve anything else that's on this list. Yeah. And I think that's why the thumbs is a good thing to start with as well. Yeah. And his his concepts of like the seeking wisdom from God and putting prayer first. What the premise of the article and some of what he's responding to, because in his article, he addresses Kevin DeYoung. He addresses Doug Wilson. So Kevin DeYoung is a pastor out in Charlotte of a Presbyterian church. well-known author in evangelical circles, Doug Wilson, same thing out in Moscow, Idaho. But there's been some intense moments of fellowship between these brothers about what speech is acceptable. especially from a pastor. And so as we are getting into this, and even as we're bringing it to our congregation and the men and women in our ministry, when we think about the soldiers that we have on Fort Bragg, where we may get to a point where two fingers down the hand, we're having a different conversation and there's a defensiveness of, I should be able to do this. We have to remember exactly what you just said, Jack, and that's where did it start? What does our speech start with? What's the initial response of the Bible believing Christian, of the disciple who is growing in Christ likeness? What is their development looking like in their speech? It should always start with an intent. to have it come from the center of my understanding as best as I can achieve it of God's will. Yeah, I think he uses James one five. If any of you lacks wisdom in James three, I think, you know, helpful. bit for us to remember. James 317 says, but the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. So as Christians, we need to do the critical thinking about what godly wisdom is versus the world's wisdom, because the world's wisdom, when you're wronged, is not peaceable. It's not gentle. It's you're justified in feeling the way you do. So there should be consequences for the other person. It's not godly wisdom. Yeah. All right, now let's get to the index finger. Yep, the pointer finger, number one. So the first point, so for the first index finger, point number three of our 10 digits, godly speech points to truth. Ephesians 4.15, rather than speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head into Christ. And number four, godly speech defends the faith. And that's 1 Peter 3 15. But in your hearts, honor Christ as Lord Christ, the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to to anyone who ask you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Yet do it with gentleness and respect. 1 Peter 3 15. Boy, those verses get hard when you read them in a different translation than you memorize them in. It's like my brain wanted to go on autopilot there. I'm like, wait, that's not what it says. Autocorrect. So the index finger, how am I supposed to think about the index finger? I got the thumbs. One thumb is praying first. One thumb is recognizing how much I need wisdom. For me, I saw it that, you know, we use that index finger to point at people. So I'm pointing the truth out. And then the second one, I'm defending my faith. To me, that's kind of, I move my index finger back and forth to say kind of no to them. And I'm defending what I believe. I like that, Mike, that you point out the truth. Not point at them, but point it out. Well, and another thing that that Shrock does in his long form is he brings up the point that if there is any type of malady with the index finger, that either arthritis, age, injury, anything like that, all those things will affect how straight the index finger naturally will point to something. And so he reminds the reader, the listener, that when we do speak the truth, Anything that would be sin is going to affect how well or how clear we communicate or whether or not we do communicate what the truth is to people because those things will affect how straight we're pointing. And another thing that was helpful in the long form, which I think we could all agree, we would highly recommend taking the time to listen. But he talked about the index finger being in the indicative mood, which is to say pointing to facts. representing things that just are. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, that is fact. It's not weaponized, it's again pointing, directing to the truth. So when we speak, the point is to present facts and to not water them down, not to skirt around the truth, to overly soften it, but to speak biblical truth. I think this is really important. I was going to actually bring out that point too, because we live in a time where the narrative is more important than the factual. If you can just put some nice music beside someone and tell somebody's story, the facts don't matter. In fact, one of the approaches to combat facts is, well, we know we got this fact, But we're going to find someone with a story, a sad story or whatever. In particular, if you ever listen to NPR, they do that quite a lot. I think it's a very tricky technique that we need to watch out for, because if you're watching a show or something and then suddenly, you're like, wait a minute, I'm feeling bad for an adulterer here. What's going on? And then the reality snaps in. I like how it's the indicative, because it just is. It's not filled with emotion. It's not filled with anything except for, this is the way it is. And in a world we live in, even gender isn't accepted as the way it is anymore. And so it's really important. I think it's very helpful to find out that this is what the Christian life is about. God is. He made the world. It's factual. And I've actually got a practical question as well. So often when people are sharing their faith, witnessing to family members, friends, often they'll go straight to their personal testimony rather than going to scripture. So on kind of the subject of that index finger, the indicative mood representing the facts. Can we talk maybe a little bit about the the making that distinction, like when is it appropriate to start with the testimony when you're witnessing to somebody or, you know, taking them straight to scripture? Cause I think that's something that probably a lot of folks struggle with. Well, I think first thing we need to admit that, you know, I just mentioned NPR, which is probably a liberal, we would all agree as a liberal leaning, um, you know, um, broadcasting network. It is. Yes, it is. I have my index finger up. It is. So we would say he's pointing to truth. But we also do the same thing, and I mean we conservatives, Christians, if you've been to any missionary conference, we use the same tactic. You know, the missionary comes in and shows the pictures and does this to try to get a movement in your heart. We really want the movement to be from God, but we employ those same tactics, and we need to be honest about that. Is that what you're talking about? Um, yeah. Um, more, um, you know, kind of thinking about the easy believism. Um, you know, I tried it, it worked for me kind of deal versus spiritual truth. Um, yeah. So Darius, I think. Maybe you're looking at the emulation of Paul, maybe before one of the governors or regional territorial rulers. And I forget which, was it a Herod that said you almost persuaded me? And he was given his testimony. The difference between my testimony and Paul's testimony is Paul's testimony is recorded in scripture because of the actual experience with Christ in such a way that there was a divine revelation that caused it to have this apostolic qualification to it that I do not possess. and such that even Paul later wrote, or even Peter did. We have a more sure word of promise, speaking of Scripture itself. Paul later said that it is by the word that faith comes, and Scripture bringing faith, and the faith is the essence of salvation. that if we do have a personal testimony, that it has to be interlaced with scripture consistently, that my feel good experience cannot be the soul winning device vehicle. It has to be scripture. So start with the index finger. Yeah, you have to start with the truth because the truth is what sets you free. And so the truth is found in Scripture. And then when that faith comes along, then that faith brings the victory. But I think the key for me witnessing to people is I have the Holy Spirit and I need to discern as I'm relational with this person. How do I know them? What do I know about them? I need to let the Holy Spirit lead me down. I need to connect with them this way right now, tomorrow, I need to, you know, so I don't know that there's a right or a wrong, that it has to be steps ABC. But to me, the Holy Spirit is the key. Am I listening and letting the Holy Spirit do it or am I trying to man manipulate it? Yeah, Mike, I wasn't trying to suggest ABC at all. No. So that means, Mike, I'm going back to my thumb then, right? Correct, and that's that opposable. Right, because I need my thumb to give me the wisdom to know, do I start with my testimony or do I start with my index finger and give them the indicative? Yes, and that's where, you know, we're going to get to the end here in a little bit with the pinky, you know, and having compassion with them. And so that's where sometimes I might just need to listen to them for a little bit and really love on them from they're in a hurt position, they've been damaged because of life. And I need to know that. And then that might help me to know what scripture to bring to them. All right, number the middle finger, right? Yes. And he definitely plays off of that in society. We don't always use the middle finger in a positive way. Yeah, these are the more abrasive parts of our language. So number five is that godly speech expresses righteous anger. Ephesians 426 says, be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger. And then number six for the other middle finger, godly speech knows how to cut with a serrated edge or satire. And that's Matthew 23, 24. You blind guides straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel. Yeah, I don't know about y'all. I know growing up in a Christian home and churches and David mentioned it in the interview or whatever they call the follow up when he interviewed with Stephen Wellam. And there was one other gentleman in that one, too. But, you know, he said he's always struggled with the idea of anger, righteous anger, because growing up, it was like normally whenever someone responded with anger, it was sinful. And so trying to balance, you know, when am I sinning in my anger and when is it righteous anger? Yeah. And so that's where for me, these are the two that I have to be guarded against the most. I'm understanding more and more that they have a place, but I have to be careful when I use them because I can use them in the wrong way. And so that's where these are the least that I try to use out of the 10, but I want to grow in them in the right spirit led way. It is so hard for, I've known you for over 10 years, Mike, and I just, you know, something about you that I don't know. Cause I don't see you as ever even like, you know, I don't even think you have a middle finger on your hand from this perspective. And that's where I know I still, I'm still work in progress and I need to learn the proper way. But that's where I was having a conversation with somebody earlier today, and they're wired similar to me in that area. And so we have to be careful when we go down these two paths, because we could go too far or be perceived wrongly in that. And so that's why I, I'm always tempering myself in these two areas of speech. Yeah, and I don't know if it needs to be external, because to be honest, I've never flipped anybody the bird in my entire life. But I have resonated with a song or two. I remember back when the Eagles came out with a song, Get Over It, and it was in response to the culture of sensitivity and everything. It's kind of a brash, in-your-face, get over it, get over it. Same thing with that country song, Put Your Boot on Your Neck or whatever, that I hear out at ballgames or something, or it might be Put Your Boot Somewhere Else. Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue by Toby Keith. Right. Those are very Americana, you know, guy, manly things. I'd dig into the archives for that one. I've often thought about how when you hear that, wait a minute, as a Christian, I can't resonate with that. because, you know, I'm called to have righteous anger, but not the improper kind. So it can be internal, you know, that you have to fight, even though you don't maybe, you know, regularly. Yeah. And that's one of the, you know, having righteous anger, that's one of the things I struggled. Um, I didn't get the sense that David Schrock was arguing for this, but knowing what I know of Doug Wilson and his ministry, um, and those that would follow his ministry, they would be very comfortable with flipping someone the bird, not metaphorically and righteous anger, but literally. The way our culture does. I thought that he specifically talked about the fact that they're not doing that, that the students at that university are not doing that. I think it, I took it as there was, it was not in the full sense of what it could be construed as. Cause it came out of a video, right? You're talking about the video where Johnny Cash or. Right. That it, you know, that it was basically give them, you know, the middle finger in the name of, you know, something righteous. But I, I mean, I personally struggle with, with that idea that even, why would I take a symbol that our world has and has created for the sense of this is, Without opening my mouth, this is the most offensive thing I can do to you without physically harming. That's right. And so for me that as a believer, I'm like, there's no place for that. Literally. Now, if we're gonna talk metaphorically and we're gonna talk about expressing righteous anger and godly speech, okay, well, that's a different conversation. But I think that does take place some, the conversation needs to happen when we're like, well, the Holy Spirit within me just got so mad at what those people were doing that I went off on them. I'm not saying that David Schrock was, I'm trying to make the connection for the listener or the person who may hear that point and then want to defend a particular position because of that. that I don't think as a believer that the Holy Spirit would lead us to use a gesture or to use colorful words that our culture uses to reflect our righteous anger. Yeah, and it's so difficult in that because you read about the confrontation on Mount Carmel and there's every indication that the language that was used in the ancient text was vulgar. And what I mean by that is down to the common speech of idioms to the point where he's mocking in such a way that he's saying your god is out using the restroom and can't hear you. And it's with the most vulgar of commonality, so it would be using words that we might use for using the restroom and would not be for polite conversation. But they're used in a Holy Spirit led way. But used in a Holy Spirit way because he's being not emotional, right? And but and then you you are Christ flipping tables and and and what's really interesting in that one is it said he sat and watched and took the time to braid the cords together to create the whip. It was a patient, deliberate action. Right. Not an impulsive response. And the other nuance that I would add to even the contest on Mount Carmel is Elijah doesn't attack the false prophets. He attacks the idea of their false god. So he's not using crass or intense or inappropriate or whatever word you want to use speech to attack image bearers of God. He's attacking idolatry. What do you do with Nehemiah who attacks the opposing people and actually rips the hair out of their beards? And so again, and again, that's where we need all 10 of these aspects and all 10 need to be in harmony with each other being led through the Holy Spirit. We can't let one just come out, you know, and be by itself. Especially not the middle one, right? Yes, definitely. It needs to be tempered. by the other one. Yeah. And that's what they were. And the other one was Trent Hunter. But that's in their follow up conversation. That's they were saying that each each each one of us might be more prone to one or two fingers, but we need to work at incorporating all these characteristics and utilizing them when needed And he said, you know, there are those that are more apt with the middle finger, but they need to learn to kind of temper that and realize that the satire that they might be accustomed to isn't always acceptable or isn't always helpful and that they need to pull back on that and realize, all right, I don't need to. use satire right now, I need to, you know, go with the pinky finger and show some compassion or, you know, take one of the other ones and just be a little more gentle with my speech. And my point was, is I can see where they're making arguments for some of the actions that they take. Yeah. No. And he said, you know, in the follow up, they said, you know, it's the satire isn't always wrong. You know, it's it can be very useful as a tool, depending upon what you're attempting to accomplish. But, you know, there I think their point was, you know, all of these have a purpose and a use. Just learn again, going back to the thumbs, you know, seek wisdom from God and pray and then determine based on the leading of the spirit and the wisdom that you have from him, which other finger attribute do I need to portray at this time? Yeah. And one other thing that he had mentioned in the long form that I've personally found helpful was, you know, using the yeah, the thumb and the middle finger to make that snap. And, you know, thinking about Jesus's words to the scribes and Pharisees, the seven woes, he's not pulling punches there. And what's the reason behind it? Well, he says, you know, you Pharisees, you search all over to find a single proselyte. And when you've done so, you make them twice as much a child of hell as yourself. You slam the doors of heaven in people's faces. Jesus is mad at the false teaching. He's mad at the affront to God. That's righteous anger, and that deserves the snap. It deserves the serrated edge. There's a place for it. And, you know, for us thinking through it, like, does my wife deserve the serrated edge and the snap when she takes me off? I would say that's a wholly unrighteous. anger. So for us, using that thumb with the middle finger when necessary is godly and God honoring, but it requires so much more emphasis on that thumb, I think, to use it appropriately. So Brian, to the ring finger. To the ring finger. Finger number four. So point number seven is that godly speech speaks simply. And this kind of comes from the idea that when you think of your ring finger, it is not the glamorous one. It's not the super influential one. Depends what kind of ring you have on it. It is not the small, delicate one. Really, it can almost go unnoticed. So that's kind of the idea with what he leads into. So godly speech speaks simply. In John 16, 25, Jesus says, I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the Father. And then number eight for the other ring finger is that godly speech makes promises. Matthew 5, 37 says, let what you say be simply yes or no. Anything more than this comes from evil. And so I think that's where we have to understand when Jesus is speaking there in John 16, there was a reason that he was using parables and talking the way he was, whereas in our life, we typically do not have those contextual situations. And so that's where we need to try to speak in a simple way so that people can comprehend us. But then also, like you were saying, Doc, he talks about the ring finger being our ring finger and that how the covenant of marriage and the promises that go along with that. And so we need to be people that live out God's promises and hold to them also. You know, this ring finger is the weakest finger on the hand. If you were to curl all your fingers together up underneath and have only it extended of your four fingers, you can't lift it off the table on either hand. Now we all want to try. And that's the reason why they have pitchers use it for change-ups. Instead of using the two primary grippers, they have them use the middle finger and the other ring finger as a grip. It makes the ball automatically drop in speed because they can't have a stronger grip on the ball, but they can replicate the same arm motion. So that's where the change-up comes in. That was free. That was a baseball pitching lesson. That was finger index 7.5. Plus, this is the one that, by legend, is the one that runs straight to the heart as well, which is the legend for why the ring for marriage is placed upon it. So I can see why this one represents the simplicity The most direct way of speaking to people should probably be the softest and the most out of love of what we do. Because we know that when we speak direct, if it's not out of love, it's probably also the one that's going to wound the most. All right. We have a pinky finger left. So, number nine and 10. So, godly speech offers delicate compassion. Proverbs 25 11, a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. And number 10, godly speech makes vulnerable confession. James 5 16, therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. So as we're speaking God's wisdom through prayer with our thumbs, and we think about touching our pinkies, and going back to what you were talking about, Darius, when I'm witnessing to somebody or when I'm having conversation with somebody else, I need to have compassion for them. That comes out of loving God and loving others, that I feel that for them. And so when I speak to them, I need to speak in a way that is out of compassion. And then I also need to realize as a sinner, back to Jack, what you were saying earlier with the thumbs pointing back at myself, as a sinner, I need to realize that I need to be humble and have somebody that I talk to and work through the sin in my life. Right. Or even as a teacher, we need to be vulnerable in front of our class and not come across holier than thou when we're talking through a Bible passage. If it's pointing to an area of sin that we're challenged with, then we need to confess that in front of them. you know, and admit to that. So, you know, for me, you know, my classes always know that, you know, you know, pridefulness and being in control are huge temptation areas. And so, you know, that comes up every day. And so part of me working through it with the Holy Spirit is being honest and telling others that I'm having to work through it with the Holy Spirit. And being willing, because that's the thing, I think, especially as men, that when we read these two C words, compassion and confession, that is absolutely the weakest area naturally, I think for men, females typically would tend to be more compassionate. And because of the egos that we naturally have, the idea of opening up ourselves and confessing that vulnerableness or that sin that we are struggling with to someone else, we don't want to. I mean, as a guy, we naturally like, oh, yeah, I'm all about the index finger. Let me point out the truth and let me defend. Let me let me be harsh if I need to. And I don't know about, you know, with the middle finger, but also the satire or the the sarcastic type speech, you know, those for me, naturally, it's like, yeah, like I'm all on board with those. But then the pinky finger, when he brings up the confession and the compassion, it's like, well, do I really need that pinky? Yes. Yes. Right. Yeah. The answer is yes. Right. But that's the awareness that we as believers need to have in that this is a weakness for me. Just like we should know, well, I'm prone to be too strong in this area. We should also be looking for what am I missing? And then am I willing to have those things encouraged or exhorted into my life that I then modify myself with them? What was the point of the article? I think the point of the article was that each of us as Christians, as we're looking for the process of sanctification, more transformation in Christlikeness, we should be growing in our speech in each of these areas. We should be paying attention to how we talk, what comes out of our mouth, and is it biblical? And then how is it biblical? And then am I growing to be more biblical in my speech? Yeah, okay. The only thing I would add to that is that we are talking. Like we can't not talk and expect to make disciples and grow the kingdom of God. And that each finger then represents an appropriate aspect of our speech. And there's a kind of a time and place for using each finger. And there's a time and place for each of these aspects of this type of speech. Yeah. And I think the, um, the questions he ends it with are very helpful. You know, which type of speech comes natural to you, which doesn't. What kind of words do you need to grow in and what type are you afraid or uninterested to improve? Which type of speech is most distasteful to you and why is this? Will you give grace to others who do not speak like you want them to or must someone's pattern of speech match your preference to earn your endorsement? And finally, are your commendations and condemnations for others based upon the truth of their speech or do you find yourself more concerned about the tone and style of their words? So some good questions to really you know, make us consider all of those things in the long form that he really, and I think it's worth your read to go back and read or listen to the long form. Yeah, absolutely. Yes. Wow. This is like 35 minute podcast. I don't think we've ever done one. I guess you only gave us like one page, Mike. So that kind of. That helps us be shorter. Yes, it does. Right. Yep. So there's not really anything left to say other than this podcast should encourage you to contemplate. Should I carve out the time to listen to that larger one? Do I need to talk to somebody that I'm in a disciple making relationship with about, I'm using my middle finger too much. I don't ever use my pinky. I'm not sure I'm ready to use my index finger. Maybe my thumbs have not been pointed in the right direction for a long time. Would you help me get my thumbs pointed the way they needed? I mean, I think that's what he wants us to be using this idea with. Um, and I can see how if a group of guys adopted this type of awareness that they could help sanctify each other with kind of using these metaphors as kind of a symbol, not just the middle finger, but each of the digits having a representation. Yeah. And the visual, I mean, I know obviously us communicating it via podcast isn't helping anyone, but if you visually work through this, as you either listen to our article review or the actual long form, it does, you get all of the imagery because I don't know about you guys, but I think this one from David Schock is probably one of the best articles I've, as far as the writing and the visual and incorporating- Is that your index finger or? I'm going to give them all all five. It's a high five. Oh, wow. Yeah. The right hand or the left hand high five. Right hand. Right hand. OK, good. Hey, thanks for listening. We're always looking for new material. We're always looking for content. We want this to be a disciple making podcast. If you have a question that you want us to deal with an article that you want us to think about, I'm thinking about a sister in Christ who said that she had some ideas for us and still hasn't provided any. So I hope that her listening to this will maybe prompt her to respond. Talk to any of the pastors at Berean, call the church, whatever you have to do to get in touch with us. Share this podcast with someone else if you think it's helpful. Thanks for listening. Have a great day.