I do still go to church but I have several friends who could be in a support group using the title as the theme of their meeting. All my friends have something in common - their Christian brothers and sisters talking about them. People in the church talking about people in the church.
Gossip in the church is a killer. A killer of spirit. A killer of hope. A killer of faith. A killer of soul.
Grace in the church gives life. Gives life to the spirit. Gives life to hope. Gives life to hope. Revives the soul.
At the end of Hebrews 4, these words are recorded, “So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” [Emphasis mine]
Jesus, who gave His life for us, knows our trials and our temptations and He understands. Even more, He accepts us at his throne of grace. I wonder why some people in the church don’t take the same approach?
I don’t remember the last time I heard a series of sermons preached on gossip yet I know of nothing that kills a church faster. Not divorce. Not alcoholism. Not sexual immorality. Not hatred and bitterness. Not all the other sinful acts either. So why not more discussion of gossip?
Hey, I’m guilty too. I grew up in the performance-oriented church culture. We ran as hard as we could doing “the right things” and we did our best to keep our faults under a rug. When people went forward at church, we spent time at lunch talking about what they did and what they needed to do to clean up their act. Then I crashed and burned and I was the guy people were talking about. I heard the stories and the things that were said. Some things were true, some were far off base and much of it was said by people who had no way of knowing anything unless they had heard it 2nd or 3rd hand. And it hurts. Badly.
I know why some of my friends don’t go to church anymore. I’ve told some that there are more grace-filled people at church than there are gossipers but so often 1 bad thing outweighs 20 good things. It has sure made me aware of what I have said in the past and how I have hurt people. Lord willing, I will remember the lessons I’ve learned and just share the grace that has been given so freely to me.
I was listening to a radio preacher the other day who mentioned several times that Jesus spoke about hell more than any other Bible character. It sent me to the Internet and if the information I found was correct, it credited with Jesus referring to hell at least 16 times. The same source said Jesus spoke directly about love 51 times. I don’t know if those facts are completely accurate but the thing I get out of that is that Jesus was much more interested in loving people than in condemning them. Jesus came to save the world, not judge it. What in the world do we need to be doing here?
Peace and grace.
Jeff Jones
No comments:
Post a Comment