A Sure Way to Separate Friends...

Gossip. I'm sure I've written about this before, but a friend has been posting all week on Instagram about the tongue and the power that it has. (If you are on Instagram, you really should check out/follow Kristina's 'knowing him and making him known' group. It is full of inspiration and challenge.)

One day, she showed me this and and the wheels of my mind began to turn:

I have MUCH experience with gossip, believe me!

I used to love it.

It used to give me a feeling of importance,

a rush of excitement to share news about others

that someone else may not have known.

And then one day,

amidst God teaching me not to do that,

things came crashing upon me,

and I learned in a very real way

how devastating gossip can be.

Sometimes it seems like an

 innocent thing to discuss others 

with your friends,

but let me tell you,

GOD HATES IT!

I now know the hard way how

very sickening it is to discover

that people you thought you

could trust, who you thought were 

your friends, 

had been discussing you

(and getting it wrong!)

behind your back,

assuming things that were 

completely false,

and making blanket statements

that were not even

close to accurate.

As I walked through that experience,

the light turned on in my heart,

and I saw gossip/slander in a way

like never before.

And I hate it now!

Women like to talk.

(well, many of us anyway)

We like to share news

and discuss the why's and the

wherefore's of situations.

(think: quilting bee or baking day

or even, God forbid, church ladies' night

on Wednesdays)

Ladies, be careful.

You should make it 

your goal to never say 

what you would not say

if the person you are talking about

to others would be present.

And what gives us the liberty to 

gossip about others and their sins,

or what we perceive to be faults?

Can we claim to be perfect 

and without sin?!

It has been my experience that

when I started hating gossip

(God hates it, too!),

then a compassion began to grow

in my heart towards others

like never before.

The truth is, were you to be

God and see into the hearts

of those you don't understand

or agree with,

you would see things there

that would cause you to be

ashamed of your current

thoughts towards them.

If you have a gossip problem,

and you name the name of Christ,

I urge you, ladies, to please

get on your knees and ask for mercy,

and ask for the Light of life to

illuminate your hearts and minds.

Take your Living Word, the

Holy Bible,

and see what God says about

gossip,

slander,

and the tongue.

Then purpose to speak

only what and when God

tells you to...

He has the power you need

to change and to become

more Christlike in

the words you say.

I am not perfect in this yet.

Sometimes it becomes necessary

to share something about someone else

with a third party.

From my perspective,

we should do so very, very

cautiously, and prayerfully.

We all are on a journey.

One day, the one you 

are gossiping about may

change and become renewed

in the area that is annoying or disturbing 

you currently.

What will all those people do

with the information that you 

gave them unwisely and unkindly

about that person?

Will he/she be forever marked as the one

who (fill in the blank),

because you so rudely shared 

that information with them?

This is a subject very close to my heart,

and I share it with you, feeling very vulnerable.

Please, please measure your words

and keep them in the shadow of the Cross.

Our churches will be strengthened 

and our friendships more trusting

if we choose not to gossip.

Love and blessings,

Marcia