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I think we have all been at a Church function and we have overheard the gossip mill begin. Most of the time it starts out innocent enough, before you know it the conversation has gone way to far. Feelings get hurt and the Church body is the one that suffers. When the gossip bug hits our Church it does more than damage the person who is being talked about. It actually causes discord within the walls of the Church and outside of the Church as well.
Gossip is a toxic practice both inside and outside the Church. It can tear a person down in a second because it can tarnish not only how we look at a person but how others view the person as well. Sometimes I think that we forget how powerful our words are.
Our Words Can:
Build a person up or tear a person down
Encourage or discourage a person
Provide wisdom or show ignorance
Make a difference in the way a person views others or themselves
Yes, our words are very important. In fact our words are just as important as our actions! Yet, sometimes we all forget that when we get into deep conversations with our friends and family. We seem to let our guard down and let crazy things just fly out. I have learned that 9 times out of 10 it is done because we are seeking to make ourselves feel better. Other times I think it is because we are seeking out justification for the way we are thinking.
Psalms 141:3 states:
Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.
Ephesians 4:29 stats:
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Words that come out of our mouths are suppose to be useful to those who are listening. When we are participating in the act of speaking unkindly about others there truly isn’t anything that is useful in that by any means. So what do we do when the very place that we bare our broken souls gets bitten by the gossip bug?
- We speak with the person in private who has started the gossip. Going around the whole Church will only cause more and more confusion. Therefore we need to make sure that we simply take it to the source.
- If the issue isn’t resolved then we need to speak to our Deacon or Pastor about the situation. A lot of times gossip doesn’t simply stop because we bring it before the persons attention that you know it is going on. It is in those moments if it is really that problematic to you that you may need to bring it to someone higher ups attention. Please note this should really be a last resort type thing because to me Pastors really have enough on their plates.
- Pray for those involved. We don’t always know why our fellow church friends gossip, for that matter we don’t know half the time why we ourselves fall into the gossip trap. So it would make sense that we need to pray for those involved and ourselves. That the words that are spoken by ourselves and others around us are those that are uplifting and not a stumbling block for another person.
- Refrain from adding fuel to the fire. It is so easy to get caught up in the gossip bug. Before you know it you are right up there with the rest of the masses. Make sure that you are choosing your words wisely and that you are continuing to us your words to edify.
Gossip is a problem that we deal with everywhere we turn. One place that we can all work toward making gossip free is our Church.
Until Next Time Just Keep Soaring 4 Him,
This post is part of an ongoing series that will continue until God stops laying it on my heart. To view more posts of this series or to find the reasoning behind this series simply click the image below to see it unfold from the very beginning.
