The other
day I had heard some rather disturbing
news. I had originally thought this news
had little to do with me on a personal
level,
as it was
not about me or my family,
but after a couple of days passed
I realized that it really did have an
impact on me. So, I decided to share my
heart on the subject In hopes of helping
others understand my concern.
It all started on the day I volunteered
to serve at one of our church Yuletide
presentations. What an awesome day that
was. I met a bunch of incredible people
that seemed to love each other
individually and collectively as a body.
It was a special time for me. My family
has been serving here for some time but
much to my discredit, I had never really
volunteered at our current church.
Because of some past negative
experiences at another church, I had
built a tall wall after leaving there
over three years ago, so it was hard for
me to get back into the flow of things.
Last month I was feeling conviction
about serving in my church, so I felt it
was time to allow myself to serve
wherever the Lord would have. In fact I
had met with the pastor a few weeks
before the Christmas presentation and I
had told him to let me know where they
had a need and I would be there. A
couple of days later the music director
told me that he needed food / beverage
servers for the church Yuletide
presentation and asked if I would help
there, so I did. Wow, what a cool
experience that was. In fact to be
honest it was so good that I couldn't
sleep afterwards because I was still
excited about the spiritual uplift I had
received from giving myself to the
service of my Lord. That was on
Saturday.
Sunday came with our family gathering
together to eat and fellowship as usual
after church. We talked about the church
program and how awesome it was and also
how nice it was to be involved with a
good church.
I had
heard about a situation in the church
body. It involved a couple of folks and
negative talk that was being passed to
and fro. I had discerned that there was
a problem a few weeks earlier and now I
had affirmation that my discernment was
correct.
I want you to understand the spiritual
gift of discernment. No, I can't read
your mind! Close but not quite
J.
Often times I sense my spirit being
attacked or quenched but I can't put my
finger on exactly what is causing this
overwhelming sensation. By the way
discernment works two ways. You can
experience positives as well as
negatives. Anyway, usually if I can keep
silent and wait the Spirit will reveal
what the problem is. When that happens
it is for a purpose. That's why God
gives us gifts, so He can use them
through us. Therefore, when I realized
what the problem was I also realized
that I needed to write on it. The
problem? Gossip!
I often times wonder what would happen
today if God were to act immediately
with us when we seriously mess up, like
he did with the husband and wife tag
team that lied to Peter about selling
their land and giving all the proceeds
to the church. Peter told them they
were dead because of that sin, and
behold they were dead, carried out, and
planted in a twinkling of an eye. Whew!
I think a lot of people would give
their choices a second thought before
acting if that were the case. Of course
if God decided to immediately act when
He sees sin, none of us would be here!
Anyway, I am here to tell you that God
does still immediately act when there is
sin. It may be that sometimes the action
is death, but it also can be something
just as bad. That something is destroyed
lives.
Let's go to the bible for a minute. The
word describes gossip as something that
Divides, discourages, destroys,
deceives, and is Satan's language.
Also
James 3:5,
6 -THE TONGUE IS A LITTLE MEMBER,
AND BOASTETH GREAT THINGS. BEHOLD, HOW
GREAT A MATTER A LITTLE FIRE KINDLETH!
AND THE TONGUE IS A FIRE, A WORLD OF
INIQUITY: SO IS THE TONGUE AMONG OUR
MEMBERS, THAT IT DEFILETH THE WHOLE
BODY, AND SETTETH ON FIRE THE COURSE OF
NATURE; AND IT IS SET ON FIRE OF
HELL.
Or how
about;
1 Tim
5:13-AND WITHAL THEY LEARN TO BE IDLE,
WANDERING ABOUT FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE; AND
NOT ONLY IDLE, BUT TATTLERS ALSO AND
BUSYBODIES, SPEAKING THINGS WHICH THEY
OUGHT NOT.
What about
this command? Note he did not say
please.
Eph
4:29-LET NO CORRUPT COMMUNICATION
PROCEED OUT OF YOUR MOUTH, BUT THAT
WHICH IS GOOD TO THE USE OF EDIFYING,
THAT IT MAY MINISTER GRACE UNTO THE
HEARERS.
There are
hundreds of references in the scriptures
that define exactly how God feels about
our wagging tongues. None of them are
encouraging if you are a person that
loves to backbite another.
Think
about this;
1 Peter
4:15. "But let none of you suffer as a
murderer, or as a thief, or as an
evildoer, or as a busybody in other
men's matters"
Notice
that a "busybody" is placed in the same
company as "murderers, thieves, and
evildoers." That's heavy!
Here's
what a gossip can count on to happen for
them;
-
Gossip
is as sinful as murder and will
suffer the same consequences unless
there is repentance (Rom. 1:32).
-
God
holds you accountable to your words
(Matt. 12:36-37).
-
The
person who gossips to you about
others, also gossips to others about
you.
-
Gossip
& slander disqualifies persons for
spiritual leadership (1 Tim. 3:11,
Jas. 3:2).
-
Gossip
often masks as pretentious concerns
for others.
-
Gossip often thrives upon secrecy.
Where secrecy is removed, gossip is
hampered.
-
Gossip
always contributes to a problem and
never to a solution.
-
Gossip
always distorts and exaggerates, and
is never a reliable source of truth.
-
Those
who gossip & slander are not in
right fellowship with God (Rom.
1:28-32).
-
Those
who gossip rarely get answers to
prayer, and often face persistent,
unexplainable problems (Psalms
66:18, Prov. 21:23, Prov. 6:12-15).
Why is God
so upset about gossip? Because He loves
people and gossip is nothing but a
destroyer of people. Even if you think
you have gotten away with the talk, you
can bet it will come back to you
magnified in ways you will not want to
deal with.
The reason
I wrote this letter is simple. Even at
the least destructive level, gossip
hurts. With me I was compelled to write
this because my spirit was quenched by
talk about someone I don't know very
well about a subject I know nothing
about. If it affected me in this way,
how much more does it affect the body as
a whole? Friends, gossip is a cancer in
the body that needs to be surgically
removed. If that cancer started with you
please remove it and repent, before God
acts.
Read these
solutions;
-
If you
have been a gossiper, confess this
as sin and ask Christ to forgive
you. "Repent" by turning in a new
direction and surrendering your
tongue to Christ, not to gossip or
bad-mouth again (1 John 1:9, 1 Cor.
7:10).
-
Keep
your nose out of other people's
business.
-
If you
can't say something good or
encouraging about others, then keep
your mouth shut (Eph. 4:29).
-
Never
criticize another person, except to
their own face with intent to help.
Criticism can never be
"constructive" if expressed to
anyone else.
-
If
your "friends" start bad-mouthing
others to you, stop them in their
tracks -- refuse to be a partaker of
their sins (1 Tim 5:22).
-
Avoid
association with persons who gossip
(Prov. 20:19).
-
Expose
works of darkness by reporting
gossip to the pastor that he may
confront and offer correction.
Gossip should be treated as any
other vile sin (Eph. 5:11).
"I will
watch my ways and keep my tongue from
sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as
long as the wicked are in my presence"
(Psalms 39:1).
Until Later; Dave
PS:
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