Gossip

Forgive me for all the posts tonight. So much has happened in the past hour my head is spinning. So many thoughts and ideas. One subject is gossip and the pain it causes.

Tonight I received a call from my little sis that our parents were not doing well. Not too long ago my dad had withdrawn from a volunteer position he had been doing. His health is not good, and then after falling and cracking ribs not once, but twice, he was not capable of carrying out the duties that well. He regretfully resigned his position. Partly because of much bickering and gossiping and many not wanting to learn some very important tasks. Anyway, I don't want to go in depth and carry it into a gossip session.

Shortly after many were complaining about my dad resigning, accusing him of being a quieter. Let me tell you a bit about him. My dad is an honest hard working man that would give the shirt off his back to anyone that needed it. He's 74 years old, had stints put in his heart, suffers from high blood pressure and sugar diabetes. He still plugs along, does work for many in the community, doesn't charge what the going rates are for his work, has done a lot of volunteer work for the community and will give anyone who needs it his all.

Now after all the years of doing what he can for them, they are mad at him, pointing their fingers, talking to my mother with all their gossip, bringing her down. She ended up upset, her blood pressure shot up, she became angry with dad, dad became even more upset than he's been, he's looking yellow and very emotional. My little sister just moved out there and now they are spreading rumors about her.

So my point is, gossiping is wrong. Gossiping hurts. When it gets to the point where you are affecting people's health, how far is one willing to go? They must be able to see it. My parents just celebrated their 50th anniversary and will be celebrating their 51st the end of this month. Now they are bickering due to gossipers. Why? What comes of it? Why hurt people with your idle gossip? Why spend your time making it your business of what others are doing, or passing judgment on others for that matter?

If you have time on your hands to talk poorly of others, making a mockery of their lives, making them miserable, then you have time to sit and read the word. I would highly suggest doing that instead. I pray for the souls of those who have nothing better to do. Because someday judgment day will come upon each and everyone of us. Do you think the Lord our God is going to find favor on those that have spent their days filled with tongues that slight.

Proverbs 10:18-22 (NKJV)
18 Whoever hides hatred has lying lips,
And whoever spreads slander is a fool.
19 In the multitude of words sin is not lacking,
But he who restrains his lips is wise.
20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;
The heart of the wicked is worth little.
21 The lips of the righteous feed many,
But the fools die for lack of wisdom.
22 The blessing of the Lord makes one rich,
And He adds no sorrow with it.

Message Bible
18 Liars secretly hoard hatred;
fools openly spread slander.
19 The more talk, the less truth;
the wise measure their words.
20 The speech of a good person is worth waiting for;
the blabber of the wicked is worthless.
21 The talk of a good person is rich fare for many;
but chatterboxes die of an empty heart.
22 God's blessings makes life rich;
nothing we do can improve on God.

No matter how we look at it, the Lord does not like loose lips and sly tongues. It does not get us anywhere.

Thankfully my little sister lives close to our parents now and was able to go and get them calmed down. She let them know that she has kept silent and never stepped in, letting them handle it. But she is not about to stand by and let a bunch of busy bodies come between them and possibly put them six feet under. I'm thankful for my loving family willing to take a stand for one another. I pray my parents find peace in the Lord. I'm thankful my sister is filled with the Lord and has a strong passion for Him. Instead of being angry with the citizens doing the hurt, I pray for the Lord to enter them and soften their hearts. I pray for their souls for obviously they do not know what they do. I pray for divine intervention amongst those that do the spiteful things they do. I pray they repent for their wickedness and seek forgiveness and give themselves to the Lord. I pray if they are saved that they think twice about what they are doing, get back in the word and repent, repent, repent. Let not what Christ went through for our sins go in vain.

Note: I do not claim to be sin free by any means. I am going to do a testimony of a wicked life I once led and what has led me to try to keep a clean life now. So when I write articles such as this, it's to remind myself as well. Lord knows I am still a huge work in progress. In fact I was just sitting here discussing with him my stubbornness still at times, but thankfully He's such a loving God, He forgives, hugs and tells us He still loves us. Hmmm, why can't we all be that way? Wouldn't life be grand then?

May you all be void of having the wicked slander your good name. May the Lord protect you from the evil ways of the world, of the flesh. May he place a hedge of protection around each one of you and cover you with the blood of Jesus. God Bless you all!

God's Promises: Tuesday

Shame; Lying; Slander & Reproach; Anger; Guilt; Enemies; Prisoners, Loneliness; Worry; and Pride. From the NKJV.

Shame: Psalm 119:6: "Then I would not be ashamed, when I look inot all Your commandments."
When we follow the commandments of the Lord, we will not have a reason to be ashamed when we see His sweet face.

Lying: Leviticus 19:12: "And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord."

Slander & Reproach: 1 Peter 4:14: "If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified."
When we are being cursed for being a believer, we are blessed with the Holy Spirit and He is glorified because of it. The person cursing us is cursing the Lord and is sinning. We are glorifiying the Lords name with our belief.

Anger: Nehemiah 9:17: "They refused to obey, and they were not mindful of Your wonders that You did among them. But they hardened their necks, and thier rebellion they appointed a leader to return to their bondage. But You are God, ready to pardon, greacious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in kindness, and did not forsake them."
What a loving God we have. We can be stubborn, angry, etc. and He still loves us and forgives us when we repent of our sins. Notice how it says, "slow to anger." This is what we should practice/work on to be more Christ like, "slow to anger."

Guilt: Isaiah 55:7: "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him retrun to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundntly pardon."
Again, we must repent, ask for forgiveness. When we do this, we are forgiven (pardoned) by the Lord for all and this enables us to let go of our guilt.

Enemies: Isaiah 62:8: "The Lord has sworn by His right hand and by the arm of His strength; 'Surely I will no longer give your grain as food for your enemies; and the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine, for which you have labored."
He's always looking out for us!

Prisoners: Dueteronomy 30:4: "If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you."
You are never alone no matter what.

Loneliness: Isaiah 58:9: "then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness."
For if you obey Him, He is always there to pick you back up. You are never alone.

Worry: Psalm 46:1-3: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the seas 3 Though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling."
Isn't it nice to know that there really is no need for worry, as God has it all under control no matter the situation. After all, our lives are already planned out.

Pride: Isaiah 5:21: "Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
So as long as we are careful with what we do, and stay on the path God has given us we will be well kept and nd taken care of.