Are you baptist? I am and I can tell it most of the time on Sunday mornings. Lets face it guys and gals. The baptist church gets an "A+" for all of our gossip. We love to talk about the people we worship with. Everyone is guilty of gossip. I think that the biggest problem is that we fail to really look at ourselves or even better we don't want to see our faults.
How much easier is it for us to load up our guns with words to fire at other people instead of at ourselves. Facing our faults and short coming is not easy. It is so much less complicated to look at the person you saw yelling at the K-mart cashier over bad service then it is to realize that you shouted out "Learn to drive" at the car that cut you off by about three car lengths and then didn't pull out going 45 mph making you have to slow down. How dare them! You get my drift.
This weekend we had a visitor at church. Ken Freeman was in town and he was bringing the word. He used the following scripture....
" Examine yourselves, whether
you are in the faith; prove
yourselves (emphasis added)."
2 Corinthians 13:5
When is the last time that you used that scripture? Not read it, not spoke it, or not even taught on it but actually lived it out like the word of God. EXAMINE YOURSELF!
The Baptist guidelines seems to read like this....
"Examine your neighbor. Make
fun of them. Laugh at their
flaws. You know you want to!"
Baptist 1:01
I am also guilty of this. I love to laugh and sometimes it is at the expense of the none knowing fellow Christian and a few others who are not Christian. It is wrong. No matter who it is. We laugh at jokes that seem harmless but I thought about it. Would I tell these guys about the jokes I am telling? What would they say? How would I feel about it. Would the apostles have followed Jesus had He made fun of them for being some stinky fishermen? No! I needed to examine myself and get right with those who don't even know that I have sinned against them.
If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around does it make a sound. Yes it does. If you joke about someone and it doesn't make it bad to them is it wrong even though you know you were joking? You bet it is. Trying to deliberately tarnish the image of another is cruel, rude, and a sin. Jokes are more capable of the same thing.Gossip is gossip. Examine yourself when you feel the urge to gossip and if you still feel good enough about yourself to laugh at them then you can go ahead. I doubt you will though.
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6 comments:
Hey, Blog Guy.
I started to gloat when I heard you say, "When is the last time that you used that scripture?" In fact, I was just looking at that verse this evening.
But then you had to go and spoil it. :) "Not read it, not spoke it, or not even taught on it but actually lived it out like the word of God. EXAMINE YOURSELF!"
Thanks for the challenge. It goes well with 2 Peter 3:18, which we just had at Bible study, and I'm considering blogging about. (--if I get the time!)
Peace! --Jacob
"Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness."
Great post.
Soul searching needs to be done everyday to be effective.
BDG
Thanks for you kind words. I was sort of worried that this one may come a little rough but it seems that you guys got it.
Thanks for coming visit. Jacob I haven't stopped into your site in about a week but plan to soon. If you don't blog about 2 Peter 3:18 I might! :)
I don't think this problem goes with the word "Baptist"...no, no, it doesnt. All churches have this problem. ALL. It doesnt offend me that you said Baptists though. Anytime you have a group of people(Christians or not) together, there will be gossip.
1.) yes, gossip is wrong.
2.) yes, we are to make allowances for flaws according to Paul's letter to Ephesus.
3.) we are to hate the sin of people, not the people.
4.) and i believe we should point the sin out to that person. no one else. that person. otherwise, i am responsible for not saying anything.
5.) its stupid to make a big deal about gossip. usually the people complaining about it are part of it.
---point trying to be made: the sin(gossip or whatever else) is breaking the heart of God AND breaking the body of Christ.
but, if you live according to the Word of God, the people will have no reason to say anything. if no one makes a big deal about gossip, it will die down.
"Examine your neighbor. Make
fun of them. Laugh at their
flaws. You know you want to!"
Baptist 1:01
i think that should be "sinful nature 1:01"...furthermore, i dont think the people of Corinth were Baptists. Thats who he(paul) was talking to...and all Christians. but the Corinthians in particular.
thanks for the post. good points made.
Well the baptist thing is more of an insider Baptist joke. Once a week you can expect a joke in a Baptist church about the gossip. I am sure it is the same in every denomination.
I agree that if you are living the sanctified life we are called to but sadly enough people just find others things to belittle those people with or they make up things.
I absotively, posilutely, agree with this blog 99.99999%
And the percentage that is left, agrees with the fact that it is not only baptist, or catholic, or whatever denomination.
BUT ALL OF US!!!
We foo's betta reca nize!! Okay I chill out a little
Seriously though, everyone gossips, laughs, points, disagrees, critisizes (belittles as u put it), mocks, and etc.
It is wrong, we shouldn't do it, it didn't feel good to have it done to us. Although, I don't think at that point in your life Travis, that you really cared too much what people said about you. LOL!
But I didn't like it, and yet......
we still do it.
Why?
It can't possibly be to make us feel better about ourselves, or to look cool, because I know when I do it, it doesn't make me feel THOSE things.
No. What I truly believe, is that it's because we feel that someone may be pointing, gossiping, mocking, etc. at us, and so we do it just to get the light off of ourselves, whether or not there's actually even a light on us in the first place.
That is just my personal opinion though, I mean..... 1 of many.
But we have to stop this friends, brothers, and sisters.
Because, do we want this kind of behavior to fall back on our children.
I don't. And so, we have to show them, not tell them, how to treat people. Like we, ourselves would want to be treated,..... right?
That is also a part of a scripture in the BOOK, I am not sure what and where in it, it is, but I just read it the other day, and I am new to the reading the bible thing.
I do know these verses though;
Phillipeans 4:13
We can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us!!!!!
Luke 23:34
Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.
\And last, but not least
Romans 8:16
The spirit himself, beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God!!!!!
And of course :
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
But everyone knows that one if they've been to church more than 1 or 2 times.
Thank you for the Blog Travis, it gave me a chance to speak out for the one who is our Savior!!!!
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