Think Spot

Think Spot - 15th July 2013

What we say as Christians is very important. The Bible is very clear on that.

1 Peter 2:1 "Therefore rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander of every kind."

James 4:11-12 "Brothers do not slander one another...who are you to judge your neighbour?"

The definition of slander is words falsely spoken that damage the reputation of another or an abusive attack on a person's character or good name or to  attack the good name and reputation of someone. So next time you go to say anything negative about someone or to criticise their actions, think again, you might be disobeying God  and breaking a command.

James 3:3-8 powerfully shows how a small thing such as the tongue is able to cause much damage. He says that the tongue is a world of evil that corrupts the whole person ...and is itself set on fire by hell.

Mark 7:20-22 states Jesus talking about words "What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean. For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit and slander. All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean."

Most of us would not consider telling a lie, as serious sin as murder but Jesus clearly does not separate them, he labels them both evil. Again in Romans 1:29 - 32 the seriousness of slander , gossip and lying are clearly stated. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of deceit and they are gossips, slanderers. Although they know God's righteous  decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do such things but also approve of those whom practice them.

Christians are very good at gossiping but disguising it as prayerful concern. We pass on a juicy bit of information about someone and then ask the person to pray about the situation. As Christians we should not pass on any information about anyone else unless the person concerned has asked us to. It is not our place to do so even if it is for prayer.

Philippians 2:14 "Do everything without complaining or arguing. " There is nothing confusing about that command. How often do we complain about our jobs or our spouses? Or the weather? We are disobeying God when we do. God does not take disobedience lightly. The excuse 'Everyone does it' does not wash with God when we see him face to face and He asks us why we complained so often and about so many things everyone else did it will pot be an acceptable reason. 

Our jobs, our spouses and the weather are all gifts from God, we should be thanking Him for them not grumbling about them! 1 Thessalonians 5:8 says give thanks in all circumstances it does not say give thanks in some and complain in others! So then before you say anything, think "Is what I am about to say pleasing to God.?" Prayers Now, a prayer to help you into this new week.

Father, we thank you for words! We thank you that we can communicate words of life to other people! Help us to use words wisely as we interact, communicate and deal with other people, especially our loved ones and work colleagues. May the Holy Spirit, guide, rebuke and counsel, as we use the amazing gift of words to us, as we seeks to live a life worthy of Jesus Christ. Amen!

Right Mouse click to save this as a mp3 file
Click on the appropriate link to subscribe to this website iTunes