Gossipers Love Lies

Have you listened to gossip and believed it without evidence other than the stories of the interpreter teller.

How many times have we heard a story about someone but didn't actually see what was told to us? Everything after hearing the gossip was colored by that gossip, rather than interpreted in terms of what we are "really" seeing.

It is natural and normal to believe a friend who tells you things they are encountering, we love them and believe they have experienced what they tell us. This is far different from third party gossip based on something we think we see without any further evidence.

I remember the event many years ago, in which I was accused of hanging out at a bar on a Saturday afternoon. The interpreter desired to think badly of me because of her personal prejudice about me. She was an unsaved person who knew that I was a Christian. Because of this she sought to discredit me on several occasions.

This person who wished to believe I was someone doing what she knew I would not do, wanted something to hold over my head and relayed that gossip to others to further discredit me.

How did this all come about? Here is the real story.

My husband and I were visiting various sales around town on the day in question. One of the sales was across the street from a bar where we parked our car because the lot where the sale took place was full, there was no place to park except in the empty lot of the bar on a Saturday afternoon.

Instead of coming to us to ask us why our car was parked in that lot, the person who loved to gossip about us, chose to assume something about us that she knew was probably not true.

This assumption gave her permission to relay what she chose to believe, as fact to anyone and everyone else. When she finally found out the truth she didn't go back to all those people she told to clarify anything, but simply dismissed it all as an innocent mistake.

Anyone who knew us and loved us would have known immediately that there must have been another reason for our car being there, since the bar was closed the lot was empty and we didn't go to those places.

When we believe gossip about someone, things we never saw for ourselves, it is prudent and wise to ignore it, unless there is some evidence it might be true. Then if we love that person we will go to them to first ask if it is true and then continue from there.

Most often what we hear about others is skewed in a way that makes the gossiper look innocent and superior, never is it for the purpose of fixing anything.

Tale bearers are never about "love", they are always about ruining someone else and elevating themselves.

Nearly all misunderstandings could be easily cleared up when two things happen, first both parties want to discuss it to find truth and secondly when the truth is heard then reconciliation can occur.

The devil loved silence and secrets. Silence and secrets always cause trouble, no one heals, nothing is fixed and evil grows.

Proverbs 10:9-11 "…9 He who walks in integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will be found out. 10 He who winks the eye causes trouble, And a babbling fool will be ruined. 11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.…"

"One who winks" is one who hides truth, even through half truths. Eventually these people are discovered for what they are, but not until they ruin the lives of others first.

Those who are righteous tell the truth, as long as those who hear it are desiring truth, the truth will be a blessing to them. Those who love to hear bad about someone will enjoy their ill temper toward their target. The righteous man wants to know truth to repair things.

Open and honest humble discussion is the only way trouble is thwarted.

Psalm 52:3 "…2 Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, O worker of deceit. 3 You love evil more than good, Falsehood more than speaking what is right. Selah. 4 You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.…"

1 John 3:7 "Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous;"

1 John 4:20 "If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen."

When we love, we desire to hear truth to fix problems.

Those who want to hear gossip to find fault, have one thing in mind, that is to destroy, their father is the devil.

John 8:43-45 "…43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me!…"

Pride Destroys Anyone Controlled By It

The only way the believer can grow in holiness is to set aside pride, pray for a compliant heart and a teachable spirit.

We live in a world where many, if not most believers we meet are "hell bent" on preserving a false image of themselves.

Willing to bludgeon anyone who dares to challenge to the slightest degree their elevated view of their own importance, these people will fight and argue to win no matter what it takes to stay on top.

Lying, gossiping and demeaning of all kinds are their tools to keep Christ followers in a continual one down position. Satan has been very cleaver recently in building the self esteem of the culture, causing people to think that their own self image outweighs truth and goodness.

2 Timothy 3:1-5

Stop the Superficial Judging

It is possible to go through horrific things as a believer, losing everything, wealth, family, health and everything in between and remain faithful to Christ. We know this because of Job!!!! He went through everything anyone could go through and never lost his love for God.

Remember to first rebuke and then ignore anyone who would judge you because of anything you are experiencing that is out of your control. All things that happen to us have purpose, God told us that.

Romans 8:28 "27 And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose."

The meanest and most deceptive people are those who think they know why God is doing what He is doing in the lives of others. They accuse others of lack of faith, bad judgment and our level of spirituality rather than coming along side to be lovingly supportive.

Those who think they know all about another person's life are often busybodies injecting their two cents into things where they have no business.

Because of their arrogance and self righteousness, they judge things they have no business judging and they act upon those false judgments out the pride that dwells in their own hearts.

James 4:11-12 "Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?"

We are to judge righteously when it comes to obvious sin, but when it comes to personal decisions that are not sin, then we need to tread lightly, knowing that it is possible and likely that we do not know all the details of another person's business, nor do we know what God is doing in someone's life.

John 7:24 "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

When we love someone we seek to know truth to be a blessing to others. It is actually possible to think we know a matter about another person's life and be completely wrong.

Job's friends were good friends who mourned with him, but were completely wrong about their judgments as to why Job was experiencing his misery. They failed to understand that the devil had challenged God to test Job, believing that Job would not remain faithful to God if He removed all the blessings from Job. God took on the challenge and proved to the devil and all of mankind for eternity, that when we have true faith in God, difficulties and misery do not turn us away from God but rather draw us closer to Him.

The test does not make us who we are it reveals the real us. Life is not about doing all the right things to have the perfect superficial life. Life is about trusting Christ, learning lessons and coming out the other side more faithful to Christ than ever.

Those that think the absence of troubles is a demonstration of God's approval of us do not understand God's ways or the love of God. God builds our faith through trials, He disciplines us because of His love for us and He blesses not only with good things but also with difficulties to make us stronger.

We don't learn very much or build our spiritual muscles when things are easy. It is sad that so many Christians are wasting much time on building physical muscles to appear strong in their bodies but avoid the real lessons of life that come through devotion to Christ. The more we trust Christ the more difficult life is going to become. Then is when the real testing begins.

As God is busy cleansing us daily He is also blessing us with wisdom through that cleansing. Who are we to judge another brother or sister as they walk through their trials? Our job is to love, support and uplift in prayer those who are learning their lessons as legitimate sons and daughters.

Romans 8:13-15 "…13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”…"

Hebrews 12:8 "…7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you do not experience discipline like everyone else, then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live?"

1 Corinthians 11:32 "But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world."

1 Peter 5:9 "Resist him (the devil), standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering."

Satan Seeks to Enslave, Christ Frees

Human evil seeks to enslave, dominate and control others.

"If it cannot enslave the body it will enslave the mind, if it cannot enslave the mind it will enslave the emotions, if it cannot enslave the emotions it will enslave the spirit, if it cannot enslave the spirit, it will seek to enslave the conscience." smakintosh

We are living in the last days when many who claim to be "Christians" will attempt to enslave us through religiosity, rules and practices that God never intended nor commanded.

We do not have to be enslaved by all this false reality, we can seek Christ, ask Him and continue to follow Him no matter what anyone else is doing.

2 Corinthians 10:5 "5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

Check with Christ

Please go to Christ and ask Him to expose everything you have been taught in favor of obeying His truth. Ask Christ to show you truth, expose the wrong thinking, dispel the myths and remove the desire to be accepted by modern church systems.

Jesus Christ Alone, NO Other Leaders

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9er2zKylT80

Christ Alone Not Evangelicalism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxMwFgANaVg