James 4:1-12, 5:9
This goes hand in hand with gossip, but there’s a key component James includes in this instruction: “It’s God’s Word, his Message, his Royal Rule, that takes a beating in that kind of talk. You’re supposed to be honoring the Message, not writing graffiti all over it,” James 4:11b (MSG)
As a Christian, I set an example by the way I live – the way I speak, the way I act, etc. If I proclaim to try to love like Christ, then talk badly about someone, it only reinforces the hypocrisy which riddles Christianity and religion as it is. Not to mention, as James says in 5:9, surely far worse things could be said about me.
Why do I complain or speak poorly about others? Usually because they irritate me. Sometimes it may simply be that my personality and theirs are not compatible. Most of the time, if I really examine why someone irritates me or why I feel the need to share that irritation with others, I find that it comes back to me thinking I know how she should live her life.
God has a plan for everyone, and I need to remember that. Others may not think I’m doing what I should be doing, but I know that God is working in me. I must extend that understanding to others when I am tempted to pass judgment.
This is no easy task, especially when I see a loved one in conflict and I think I know what she could do to ease her struggling. It is not my job to come up with her answers. I may offer advice based on my own experience, but after that, I give it to God. In no way should I think I’m right or that I know best. How she comes through something may be completely different than how I would.
So yet again I will work to be careful in my speech, particularly when it comes to commentary on others’ lives. If it isn’t helpful – and it usually isn’t – I don’t need to say it. I will pray and lift up those in the midst of troubles instead of telling them and everyone else what they’re doing wrong and how I know how to fix it.
Amen! :D
No comments:
Post a Comment