Slithery Tongues
By Kyle Blackwell
When you read the Bible long enough, there comes a time when you stop reading the Word, and you get to a point where the Holy Bible starts reading you. If not, you may be suffering from a disease called hardening heart syndrome (disclaimer: not a real disease). God’s Word is not an easy read. Often times, I notice that rather than being like Jesus, I tend to be more like the Pharisees and the Old Testament Israelites. If we all look deep enough, we are all suffering from the same thing satan did many years ago, pride.
The original sin caused satan to believe he is actually bigger than God. I hear preachers say lucifer knows he is going to be defeated in the end times. I honestly refute that idea. Narcissistic individuals genuinely think they are indestructible. However, when death is on the horizon, they begin to rethink their entire life. Humility is an overwhelming emotion. Unfortunately, the first sin is something we all experience whether we know it, or not.
The big issue with pride is that it leads to a multitude of sin. God has laid it on my heart to speak on gossip because it is such an evil practice in the church. After much prayer and thought, I realized in order to address the issue of gossip, I must get to the root of the matter, which is pride. This leads to judgement, which turns into gossip. I did not know I would have to go this deep into the subject, but it is something that needs to be done.
Anyways, let us start with satan’s first downfall. This is one of those sins we tend to project onto others when the reality is that we must look at ourselves in the mirror. How many times have we listened to a sermon and either searched the congregation to see who the pastor is preaching about, or say, “Ms. Susan really needs to hear this message”? On the contrary, how many times have we read the Bible and thought that Paul, Peter or Jesus said those words specifically for another individual? Oh no! The Bible could never talk about me in such a way. If this sounds like you, Jesus said something so profound, and it leads me to my next point.
How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. -Matthew 7:4-5
Jesus is addressing sinful judgment. When we fail to humble ourselves before the Lord, we fall to the wicked nature of being judgmental. Humility is what allows us to become more like Jesus. With humble hearts, we are able to see all our sinful ways and be more responsive to God’s Holy Word. And since humility opposes pride, a self-effacing heart allows us to love one another the way Christ desires.
Now, there is such a thing as appropriate judgement. In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he lectures the church on things that need to change if they are going to proclaim themselves as followers of Christ. And I love the last two verses in the book of James.
My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. -James 5:19-20
James is speaking of righteous judgement, the act of addressing one’s wrongdoing and redirecting them back on the path of righteousness. The question of the hour, what is your motive? Are you judging someone in order to tear them down, or build them up? First glance, righteous judgement seems more like hate than love. However, this is the ultimate act of love, because you are saving souls for eternity, not friendships for momentary gain.
Next, judgement leads to the big one, gossip. Although this issue is spoken of in just about every book of the Bible, churches rarely bring up the subject. We are more interested in walking through a particular book in the Bible than actually getting down and dirty with the true evils in the church, sort of a safe haven. Just like pornography, gossip is a plague in the sanctuary.
I mentioned pornography, when you look at the science of how gossip affects us mentally, scientists have shown that slanderous lips actually release dopamine into the prefrontal cortex region of the brain. In other words, we feel rewarded for doing the devil’s work, just like pornography, which is spoken about in my article Perils of Pornography. Wait, did I say devil?
But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. -James 3:14-15
James speaks of harboring bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, which is what gossip truly is. The slithery tongues cannot help themselves to feast on a tid-bit of information that may, or may not be true. Even if it is the truth that is being told about an individual behind their back, a gossip is spewing their nonsense through their own selfish motives. Often times, the slander is being talked about in such a way that may sound as if they are caring and loving. But what is the true motive? Are you helping the situation? If so, why not address the individual in question? Verse 16 states that this sort of evil comes from the demonic realm, from the devil and his little minions. Oh my! The Baptists are really upset now. I’ve mentioned pornography, gossip and demons all in the span of two paragraphs.
My favorite type of gossip comes through prayer requests. We have all seen this one, and it deserves a special kind of reward. If I could make up stuff like this, I would be a big time producer making movies in Hollywood. The sad part is that it is true. Righteous gossip is always mentioned during prayer request time at the end of a Bible Study class or Sunday School. The teacher asks for prayer requests. Sally May gives the latest report of Earl, his backslidden ways, and how we need to pray for him. Now, this is always presented with a sad, somber voice. You may be able to fool others, but you cannot fool God.
Jesus told a parable of this similar situation in Luke 18. Two men, a Pharisee and tax collector, went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee prayed,
“God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” -Luke 18:11-12
On the other hand, Jesus said that the tax collector could not even look up to Heaven. The IRS man said the following,
“God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” -Luke 18:13
Jesus knew their hearts and stated the tax collector returned home justified, unlike the Pharisee.
Other times, we just want to slander someone else and say things that are not even true, just so that we can be lifted up on a false pedestal.
Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool. Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value. The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of sense. -Proverbs 10:18-21
This passage of scripture sums up the issue of slander and gossip in a way that I am unable to articulate. Instead, I’ll give an example of this devilish practice that hits very close to home. When Ana and I started dating, two women were throwing around names behind her back because she was dating a divorced man, even though Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 clears my previous marriage due to infidelity. That alone is cruel and out of line. I am not going to mention the names of these two women, but both of them have had adulterous relations with men outside of their marriages. You are high on the totem pole until the foundation of your glass house begins to crumble.
After all this, I will allow God to do the speaking with a simple verse that sums up the differences between a Holy and evil heart.
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. -Luke 6:45
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge -Hosea 4:6
