God wants us to live honorable
lives. He wants us to love one another and to reach out to one
another, to exalt and to lift up, not to destroy. God's intention
is so clear when you read the laws that He explained to Moses. And
one that I would like to stand still on today is the following:
"Do not pass along false reports.
Do not cooperate with evil people by telling lies on the witness
stand." Exodus 23:1
God doesn't want us to harm one
another unnecessarily. He doesn't want us to spread rumors and He
doesn't want us to participate in lies spread about our brothers
and sisters in Christ. If we hear about rumors He wants us to
squelch them, not spread them.
Gossip is truly a spiritual cancer
in our day. Just look at the big news it makes when a celebrity
does something wrong/ or there is a rumor of misconduct on their
side. I have heard of programs on television, where celebrities are
judged and analyzed according to their conduct and people love
watching it! They live for magazines spreading all the dirt on
those who are famous. They can't wait to read it.
But unfortunately not only
celebrities have rumors spread about them, but everywhere we go
people spread rumors about people they know. I have found that no
matter where you worked or lived, people tend to spread bad things
about others. And before you know it, you are in the middle of a
conversation like that. What is our responsibility as a Christian?
Well, first of all don't spread the rumor any further. And
secondly, try and stir the conversation unto another subject/
excuse yourself from the conversation. God wants us to build up one
another, not tear down.
But it is very difficult, I know. I
battle with this myself. And through this battle I have asked
myself when is something gossip and when is something simply
telling what happened to someone else? When is talking about
someone a bad thing to do and when is it simply conveying facts
that happened? And I think we can follow the following three things
as guidelines:
- Is it up building and positive towards the person you are
talking about? For example you tell of someone who won a
competition. If it is not up building, then stop.
- Is it merely facts you are conveying, for example, poor Stacy's
car was stolen from the shopping mall? If it is merely facts, then
it is okay.
- Would you still feel comfortable in telling the story if the
person you are talking about was in the room with you? If yes, then
it is okay.
This morning God reminded me of
scripture in Philippians 4:8:
"Fix your thoughts on what is true
and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and
lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and
worthy of praise."
And if you fix your thoughts on
these good things listed above, you will automatically tend to
speak only of the good in others too. And you will tend to want to
leave/switch off the television when evil is spoken of others. God
doesn't condone gossiping and the Holy Spirit inside of us
certainly doesn't either. And if we want to be happy and at peace
with God, we can't condone it and we certainly can't participate in
it!
Father God, please forgive us for
giving in to our culture and gossiping about other people. We are
sorry. Please give us the strength not to give in to the pressure
again. In Jesus' Name. Amen