Picture this: you and your best friend are hanging out after school, and she's sharing the latest juicy news about everyone. When she pauses for a breath, you keep it going. After you guys are done talking about the girls you don’t like, the girls you do like, and everyone in between, you start to wonder if what you're doing is wrong. Is it wrong to gossip about people, even if they hand you a reason to gossip about them? Even if what you’re saying is true? The answer is yes. It is very wrong. I’m not going to pretend like I’m perfect in this area. There have been plenty of occasions where I was the one starting gossip about people to my friends. I often catch myself and stop before I get myself in too deep, but there have definitely been times where I’ve gone on and on. The thing is, God is very clear on this. If you struggle in this area, let me help you out. Here are a few scriptures to use as filters for when it comes to talking about others.
1. 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. This scripture tells us that we’re only supposed to say things that are helpful and beneficial. As Christians, we’re called to build others up, not tear them down. 2. Luke 6:31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. We’ve probably all heard this scripture, otherwise known as the Golden Rule. Think about it like this: how would you feel if you heard someone saying the same thing about you that you said about someone else? 3. Philippians 4:8 Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things. We’re called to speak positive things. God wants us to only say things that are honest, just, pure, and lovely. Don’t be the person who speaks negativity into other people’s life. 4. Ephesians 5:4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking... A lot of jokes these days are full of filthiness, foolishness, and crudeness. Be the person who refuses to fall into that trap. The thing about gossip is that people always think that they can talk about people and they'll never find out. But why would you want to take that risk? You probably think you’re being discreet but, chances are, someone heard you. If the person you’re talking about finds out, you've likely lost a friendship; or at least their trust. Proverbs 11:13 says: A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret. And here’s the scary part: on judgement day, you're going to have to give account for every time you gossip. That means that you'll have to explain to Jesus why you were gossiping about His child. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak. Matthew 12:36. So even if the person you're talking about never finds out, you're going to have to have a conversation with God about every careless word that you speak. That's a conversation I really don't want to have, and I have a feeling you probably don't want to have it either. So next time you and you friends are talking about someone, put your words through this filter: Is what I’m saying: Wholesome? Helpful? Beneficial? Something I’d want someone to say about me? True? Honest? Just? Pure? Lovely? Good? Virtuous? Praise-worthy? If you can’t answer yes to all of those questions, it’s probably something that doesn’t need to be said. Words have power. Way more power than we sometimes realize. Let’s not abuse that power. Choose to let your words build others up instead of tearing them down.
0 Comments
This past Friday, we talked about the first five Fruit of the Spirit (if you didn’t catch that post, you can read it here). Today, we’ll discuss the remaining four, as well as my method for living out all nine daily. I hope that you’ve already been making an attempt to live out the first five since Friday. I realize that it’s not an easy task, but I pray that I can help you with that. Here’s the scripture to refresh our memory:
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Goodness Titus 3:4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared… God is good. This ties back in to what I said in the last post. We’re called to be like Christ. If Christ is good, we should be too. I believe that goodness is about following God. It’s about integrity. It’s about loving others. To me, goodness is all of the Fruits wrapped into one. Faithfulness Psalm 37:3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. To befriend something or someone is to become close to it. To know it. To understand it. That’s what we’re commanded to do with faithfulness. Befriend it. Walk in it daily. God is so faithful to us. The least we could do it return the favor. Be faithful to Christ. Love Him. Defend Him to others. We are His bride, after all. Gentleness Ephesians 4:1-2 Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with…gentleness… If this verse looks familiar, it’s because I used the same one for patience. And the explanation is the same as patience. Walk in your calling with gentleness. Show it to others, and you’ll get it back in return. Self-Control Proverbs 25:28 A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. Destroyed. Easily destructible. That’s what I think of what I read the scripture. Without self-control, you will be destroyed. And honestly, you’ll probably be the one to destroy yourself. Without self-control, you won’t be able to stop yourself from doing reckless things, nor will you be able to stop yourself from being around people who will destroy you. You don’t want to walk around today’s society without self-control. Pray to God for that ability. I promise you that He will help you find it. When I first began to really look at the Fruit of the Spirit and decided that I wanted to make it a priority to make these a normal part of my day, I developed a method of sorts. What I did was focus on one Fruit per day. That’s not to say that I disregarded the other eight Fruit. I was just very intentional about focusing on one at a time. For example: on Monday, I would focus on intentionally going out of my way to show love to people. But the trick is to not only show love to the people you like, but to show it especially to those you don’t. Then on Tuesday, I would focus both on intentionally showing love as well as intentionally having a joyous mindset about whatever the day threw at me, and so on and so forth until I got through all nine. It took me a lot longer than nine days to really form this habit. I went through all nine about four times over. It wasn’t easy, not in the least. But I did it. Through the strength of God, I was eventually able to make living out all nine Fruit of the Spirit not just a habit, but a lifestyle. If this is something you struggle with, I encourage you to not only follow my method, but pray and ask God for help. He’d be more than happy to assist. If you’ve been in Sunday school at all, you’ve likely heard of the Fruit of the Spirit. That’s what we’re going to be discussing today in order to prepare ourselves for Monday’s post on the Gifts of the Spirit. I believe that in order to have the Gifts, you have to have the Fruit. The Fruit of the Spirit are not easy to live out daily, but it is possible. I’ve developed a method of sorts to help me accomplish this. I pray that it will help you as well. It takes discipline and prayer. Lots of it. But I do believe that with God’s help, we can display all the Fruit of the Spirit. And once we do that, we can begin to operate in the Gifts of the Spirit. That being said, let’s jump into this topic.
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. We’re going to dissect each part of this verse individually in order to get a full understanding of what it means. Love Matthew 22:39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love is one of the most used words in the Bible (I just googled it). We’re called to love everyone. Not just our friends and family. We’re called to love our enemies. The people who persecute us. The people who we think don’t deserve love. That’s who we’re called to love the most. Jesus died for Christians and non-believers alike. That’s real love. We’re called to show that same unconditional love to everyone we come across. Joy John 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. Joy is not the same as happiness. Happiness is a feeling. Joy is a mindset. No one is happy all the time. But everyone can be joyful. You can be sad and joyful at the same time. Having joy through a sad time means understanding that it’s okay to be upset, but also realizing that it’s all in God’s hands. The scripture above tells us that God gave us His joy. His joy is inside of us and He wants us to enjoy it to the fullest. Peace John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace… In this world full of chaos, peace isn’t easy to come by. But I have good news: God can give it to us. In fact, He already has. Peace comes through Christ alone. Showing peace means being slow to anger. It means showing grace, whether it’s deserved or not. Be a peacemaker. Patience Ephesians 4:1-2 Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called…with patience… We each have a calling over our life. And in order to walk in that calling, we have to have patience. Patience isn’t an easy thing to accomplish; being patient with God isn’t always easy. God almost never does things on our time. But we must always remember that His timing is best. Patience is also crucial when dealing with people. Showing people patience is a true sign of the Holy Spirit. Kindness Colossians 3:12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness… We were, and are, chosen by God. We’re chosen to be His followers and His friends. We’re chosen to be like Him. Jesus was the most kind and compassionate person to ever walk this earth. He prayed for and forgave the people who mocked Him, spit on Him, beat Him, and crucified Him. He showed kindness to them even though He knew what they would do to Him. I don’t know about you, but that kind of compassion is inspiring to me. I want to have that level of kindness and compassion. And Christ wants us to as well. I had originally planned for this to be one post, but I didn’t realize how long it was going to be after I finished all nine Fruits. That being said, come back on Monday to discuss the rest of the Fruits, as well as my method for living these out daily. The last part of our series is about love. I’ll be talking about the importance of love as a prerequisite for Wednesday and Friday’s post explaining what love is. My grandmother was one of the most loving people I’ve ever known. Regardless of who you are or where you came from, she loved you as if you were family. People in the church who weren’t biologically related to our family called her Grandma for that reason. It’s always amazed and inspired me how willing she was to just show love to everyone. I aspire to be like her; someone who people look at and say, “She’s just so loving.” The Bible is full of love. Jesus loves us unconditionally. Not only that, but He calls us to love others with that same unconditionality. Not just our friends. Not just our family. Not just the people who are nice to us. Not just the people we like. Everyone. Even—no, especially—our enemies. Since that’s a lot easier said than done, here are five scriptures to help you achieve that level of lovingness.
Proverbs 3:3-4 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. We’re supposed to carry love around with us always. We’re supposed to keep them in our hearts constantly. We do that, and we earn the favor of both God and man. In my opinion, loving my enemies is a very small price to pay for the favor of God. 1 John 4:19 We love because He first loved us. God loved us. While we were sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). He loved us so much that He came to this world to die a sinner’s death, even though He was a perfect, innocent Man. The least we could do is show that same love to others. 1 Peter 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. Of all the commands in the Bible, loving each other is the one that’s above all the rest. It covers a multitude of sins. It’s that powerful. Love drives people to do crazy things. Don’t just love on the surface level. Love deeply. Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Love is honor. We’re called to honor others above ourselves. To love others above ourselves. It’s what Jesus did. It’s what He does. And it’s what He instructs us to do. Mark 12:29-31 The first commandment is this: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. The two greatest commandments in the whole Bible are about love. That should say a lot to you. It says a lot to me. Clearly, love is extremely important. Because of all the commands in the Bible, the ones about love are the greatest. We’re called to love our neighbor as ourselves. Love your neighbor above yourself. Love is a word that gets thrown around a lot. But it shouldn’t. Anyone who knows me really well knows that I do not use the phrase “I love you” lightly. If I tell someone that I love them, I mean it with everything in me. Other than family members, I can count the number of people I’ve said those three words to on one hand. It’s just not something I feel should be thrown around. The Bible makes it clear that love is sacred. It’s valuable, and it should be treated as such. I know that showing unconditional love to people is no small feat. But it’s what Jesus did without thinking twice about it. And it’s what we were put on this earth to do. Join me Wednesday and Friday to dive into 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 in order to really understand what love actually is. My grandmother was a very easy person to talk to. I used to talk to her about my friendship problems all the time because she always had great advice. Forgiveness was something that she really helped me with. She would always tell me, “Forgive like you’d want to be forgiven.” That’s not always an easy thing to do. Forgiveness is one of those things that we always want, but aren’t so quick to give away. But it was, and still is, one of Jesus’ biggest messages. Jesus is the Ultimate Forgiver. He forgives unbelievers and christians alike without a second thought. It’s so natural for Him; we see that all throughout the Bible. And we, as Christians, are called to be like Christ. That includes forgiving others unconditionally. Here are a few scriptures that will show you how important forgiveness is to God.
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. We are commanded to forgive others just as God forgave us. God is a merciful God. There is nothing we could do that God wouldn’t forgive us for. No sin is too great. No shame is too much. God will forgive us for any and all of it. We should be willing to do the same for others. Matthew 6:14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. In case the commandment above wasn’t enough, here’s an incentive. If you can forgive others, God will forgive you when Judgement Day comes. However, the opposite is also true. Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Jesus isn’t saying to forgive literally only seventy-seven times. He was making a point to Peter about forgiveness. We are supposed to forgive as many times as we are wronged. There’s not a limit on how many times someone is forgiven for messing up. Matthew 5:38-40 You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. Not only do we forgive, but we’re called to walk away. Don’t retaliate. Don’t seek revenge. Revenge is the Lord’s and His alone. Forgiveness is not an easy task. It requires us to put aside our selfish desires and put others first. It requires us to show mercy, even when we think it isn't deserved. But with lots of prayer and humility, it is possible. Remember to forgive as you’d want to be forgiven. |
MissionIn short, I started this blog because I want to give girls all over the world hope. All of the topics I write about on this blog are things that I have struggled with or am still struggling with. I want to help young women everywhere achieve freedom through Christ. Archives
May 2020
Categories
All
|