Ephesians 4:29
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.
What is behind your voice? Is it love and concern? Is it bitterness anger, judgment, or revenge. Is it honesty or lies? Are you being honest with yourself or are you covering up your mess with someone else's perceived mess? Being honest with yourself is hard work. Holding yourself accountable to move in the right direction can be a struggle. Focusing on yourself and not someone else takes discipline.
God calls you to open up your heart and live in the light. He calls you to build others up and not talk poorly, gossip, about anyone. What is gossip? Gossip is telling information to somebody else that is not yours to tell. Gossip is talking about someone's faults, mistakes or shortcomings. It’s easy to gossip because it may make you feel temporarily better about yourself. But before you talk ask yourself, is this mine to share? Have I told someone, or promised someone, I would not share this information? When someone shares information with you that is a secret, and they do not want you to share with anyone else, they are confiding in you. If the conversation starts with, please don’t tell anyone, this is your moment to open a covenant between you, them, and God. This is a covenant that you will protect their information. The only time for you to break it is when holding onto that information will bring harm to somebody.
God calls you to bring hope to the world. The enemy works on you to bring worry and fear. The enemy loves gossip. Gossip stirs things up. It puts assumptions into play that allow for people to grasp onto something, that may not be true. Gossip is the spark to worry and fear. The enemy urges you to gossip and get into other people’s business. He tells you it won’t hurt anybody. You are just sharing information. But ask yourself what is the purpose of sharing this information? What does it do for you? What does it do for the person who’s hearing the information and the person you’re talking about? By telling another person someone else’s business you are putting a burden on the person you tell. If you start your conversation with, “don’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you but,” you should take a moment and decide is this your information to share. All gossip does is bring you hurt, shame and guilt. You cannot rise carrying these burdens. You must weed gossip out of your life to rise. You must see gossip for what it is, getting involved where you don’t belong, and sharing what isn’t yours to share. Gossip leads to owning someone else’s business. Other people's business is God’s business.
God‘s business is not your business. But your business is God’s business. Everything you do and say is God’s business. He will let you when you are going in a direction that is ugly and unacceptable. He will let you know that you are not using your voice for good. Your voice can be used as a tool for healing or as a weapon. It is powerful. It has a force behind it that can show beauty or ugliness. What force are you tapping into? What force is behind your voice? Is it goodness and love or frustration and anger? Give yourself permission to choose goodness and love and in doing so you choose God. Give yourself permission to exit conversations you are not comfortable with. You don’t have to judge what others are saying but you do not have to be a part of it either. By allowing yourself to choose God you allow yourself to fight for what is right. You give yourself permission, when it’s hard to make a valiant decision, to lean on God. You become conscious of the need to pivot away from what could become destructive and move toward the light.
Every time you choose God it becomes easier to do so the next time. It will become natural. God is building a strong foundation in you. It takes time. Be patient and certainly don’t beat yourself up for your humanness. This is a lifelong journey. There is much to learn on the way.
Pivot toward loving tenderly, acting with justice and toward God's light. Use your voice for good. Your business is you. Stay in your own business and out of God's.
Prayer
Father God,
Thank You for bringing hope to the world with Your love and light. Thank you for gently guiding me back to You. I tend to get off course and get distracted with other people's messes in order to avoid dealing with my own. Forgive me for sharing information that is not mine to share. Forgive me for getting into Your business and thinking I know what is best. You are all knowing, consistent and constant. May I rely on You to use my voice for good. You are present in every conversation. Today I focus on acknowledging Your presence and turning to You for guidance before I speak.
In Jesus' name,
Amen
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