In my eyes, my daddy had no faults. Well, he might have had one; he smoked. But, he didn't do a lot of other bad things. And, he didn't like to hear gossip. At different times, my mother worked at a grocery store and a five and dime. Occasionally, she would come home with a juicy bit of news she had heard from customers who frequented the stores.
" Today I heard that......." and my dad would immediately stop her.
"Now, Mother (he always called her Mother when I was present), do you know that for a fact?"
"Well, no", my mother would say, "but........." and again he would stop her.
"If you don't have proof of that then, how do you know it's true?" He would look at her as only daddy could and my mother knew it was time to let that rumor die right there.
"Would you appreciate it if someone was spreading gossip about you?" he would ask.
And, of course, my mother would shake her head in response.
Exodus 20:16 says "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." I think that has more than the legal meaning of a witness in court. I think it also means to put aside lying, gossiping, and little white lies.
How many people have had their reputations and lives ruined because of gossip or lying? How many of us have been known to stretch the truth if it meant making someone look worse than us?
James 3:3 in The Message version says:
"A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!"
" It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell."
Have you started any fires with your tongue lately?
" Today I heard that......." and my dad would immediately stop her.
"Now, Mother (he always called her Mother when I was present), do you know that for a fact?"
"Well, no", my mother would say, "but........." and again he would stop her.
"If you don't have proof of that then, how do you know it's true?" He would look at her as only daddy could and my mother knew it was time to let that rumor die right there.
"Would you appreciate it if someone was spreading gossip about you?" he would ask.
And, of course, my mother would shake her head in response.
Exodus 20:16 says "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." I think that has more than the legal meaning of a witness in court. I think it also means to put aside lying, gossiping, and little white lies.
How many people have had their reputations and lives ruined because of gossip or lying? How many of us have been known to stretch the truth if it meant making someone look worse than us?
James 3:3 in The Message version says:
"A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!"
" It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell."
Have you started any fires with your tongue lately?
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