No Grumbling, Faultfinding or Complaining Allowed
Recently, I talked with someone who knows many of the people with whom I associated in a church we once attended. "Did so and so still attend the church?" I asked. Though I had asked the question, because I was genuinely interested in what my old friends were up to these days, I was quickly given more information than I really wanted, and before long, I was thick into a gossip session. I won't paint myself as the innocent party, because I was a willing participant.
The passage of Scripture we are focusing on this week at church is Philippians 2:14-17, verses 14-16 say: Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
How ironic that I should get myself into a gossip fest this week of all times.
"Do all things without grumbling or questioning." The KJV translates the word questioning as disputing, but the Amplified Bible says, "without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining." Our little discussion about what had gone on in the church was a perfect example of grumbling, faultfinding and complaining. Things had not gone the way we had hoped in that church, so we began to find something wrong with the people involved. Pointing the finger at another person is at the heart of gossip. It causes the gossipers to take their eyes off their own weaknesses to focus on the weaknesses of others.
In addition to tarnishing the character of others, this kind of talk is damaging to the church. It causes division among the members of the body of Christ. Someone points out a fault in one person and tells it to someone else. It strikes a chord with that person, so they spread the information with their own private experience or twist on it. Soon, people are taking sides and then the fights start. People get upset and leave. Far worse, the testimony of Christ is damaged. We are to shine as lights in a crooked and perverse generation. When we become divided because of our wagging tongues , our testimony for Christ is ruined. Instead of reflecting the bright light of Christ, we add to the wickedness around us.
When our gossip fest came to end, I felt horrible inside. At first, I was not even aware what had caused this awful feeling, but it wasn't long before the Spirit of God gently showed me what was at the heart of my guilt. Not only had I listened as someone badmouthed a fellow believer, I hadn't done anything to stop it. All it would have taken was a gentle word on my part and the conversation could have been turned to something more edifying. With a grieving heart, I repented. May God grant me never to forget how precious His children are to Him, and may I never again cause their character to be tarnished. For smearing mud on their character is like smearing mud on our Savior.
The passage of Scripture we are focusing on this week at church is Philippians 2:14-17, verses 14-16 say: Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
How ironic that I should get myself into a gossip fest this week of all times.
"Do all things without grumbling or questioning." The KJV translates the word questioning as disputing, but the Amplified Bible says, "without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining." Our little discussion about what had gone on in the church was a perfect example of grumbling, faultfinding and complaining. Things had not gone the way we had hoped in that church, so we began to find something wrong with the people involved. Pointing the finger at another person is at the heart of gossip. It causes the gossipers to take their eyes off their own weaknesses to focus on the weaknesses of others.
In addition to tarnishing the character of others, this kind of talk is damaging to the church. It causes division among the members of the body of Christ. Someone points out a fault in one person and tells it to someone else. It strikes a chord with that person, so they spread the information with their own private experience or twist on it. Soon, people are taking sides and then the fights start. People get upset and leave. Far worse, the testimony of Christ is damaged. We are to shine as lights in a crooked and perverse generation. When we become divided because of our wagging tongues , our testimony for Christ is ruined. Instead of reflecting the bright light of Christ, we add to the wickedness around us.
When our gossip fest came to end, I felt horrible inside. At first, I was not even aware what had caused this awful feeling, but it wasn't long before the Spirit of God gently showed me what was at the heart of my guilt. Not only had I listened as someone badmouthed a fellow believer, I hadn't done anything to stop it. All it would have taken was a gentle word on my part and the conversation could have been turned to something more edifying. With a grieving heart, I repented. May God grant me never to forget how precious His children are to Him, and may I never again cause their character to be tarnished. For smearing mud on their character is like smearing mud on our Savior.
Comments
The last point in the posting is the most poignamt, I think, because the person hurt the most is the One we least deserve to offend. Since He loves us all as He has demonstrated, it hurts to realize that we have added to that pain with our failure to love as He has commanded us.
Its a good reminder to me that, once forgiven, my responsibility is to live by His more than adequate example.