Wise virgins find out what pleases the Lord •
“find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose (reprove) them.
(Ephesians 5.10 NIV)
To speak evil of no man
Titus 3.2
They refuse to slander or insult others;
they’ll never listen to gossip or rumors, nor would they ever harm another with their words.
Psalm 15.3 TPT
They speak the truth and don't spread gossip;
they treat others fairly and don't say cruel things.
Psalm 15.2-3 CEV
Then, when you call, the Lord will answer. “Yes, I am here,” he will quickly reply. All you need to do is to stop oppressing the weak and stop making false accusations and spreading vicious rumors!
Isaiah 58.9 TLB
A twisted person spreads rumors;
a whispering gossip ruins good friendships.
Proverbs 16.28 TPT
“No lie was found in their mouth“
No lie was found in their mouth, for they are blameless (spotless, untainted, beyond reproach).
Revelation 14.5 AMP
And in their mouth was found [d] no deceit (falsehood), for they are without fault before the throne of God.
Revelation 14.5
Gossip
: a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others: rumor or report of an intimate nature
Bridle your tongue
If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.
James 1.26
“the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Galatians 5.22
“love one another”
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
John 13.34
“Pay attention... When a person is gossiping, you are learning more about them and their character than anything they are gossiping about.”
― Steve Maraboli
“Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.”
― Socrates
“Isn't it kind of silly to think that tearing someone else down builds you up?”
― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens
“Don't waste your time with explanations: people only hear what they want to hear.”
― Paulo Coelho
“Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.”
― Marie Curie
A gossip betrays a confidence,
but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.
Proverbs 11.13
A perverse person stirs up conflict,
and a gossip separates close friends.
Proverbs 16.28
And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not.
1 Timothy 5.13
The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
they go down to the inmost parts.
Proverbs 18.8
Without wood a fire goes out;
without a gossip a quarrel dies down.
Proverbs 26.20
They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.
Romans 1.29 NIV
For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.
2 Corinthians 12.20 NIV
Holiness Required for Heaven (link)
by Adelaida De Carrillo
The Lord said… “Never listen to gossip anymore, whenever anyone comes to you with any form of gossip, don’t listen to them, excuse yourself from them and go away immediately without partaking in it, don’t listen to things that don’t edify you anymore.”
[…] The Lord said, “Daughter, I’m doing this for you not to gossip any more, for you to stop doing things that don’t please Me, because your tongue collaborated in a lot of things that don’t glorify Me, you told many lies, stop lying!” … “Telling lies is not mine, liars don’t please Me, all liars can never see Me, no liar will enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
"all liars can never see Me,
no liar will enter into the kingdom of heaven."
The Lord said, “I’m doing all this because I love you. If you continue the way you used to be, I’m going to lose you. If I hadn’t done all this, you were never going to change. I have to save your soul and this is My reason for doing all this. I love you, because I love you I don’t want to lose you.” . . . “Just like you, many among My people are like that, telling lies, living a double life and they appear to be pure to others. When you shout at your husband also your tongue is being used.” My mouth was totally cleansed and the Lord asked me to swallow some water.
[…] I said, “Lord, there are a lot of people being tormented in Hell, why didn’t you give them the opportunity to amend their ways and come here to Heaven.” Jesus replied, “They are there as a result of their disobedience.”
'Jesus replied,
"They are there [in hell] as a result of their disobedience.'"
This is one of her visits to hell. Jesus showed her Christians who died and went to hell
“And,” Jesus said, “you also had a double tongue. You talked about your brothers and sisters in Christ. You judged them and thought you were holier than they, when there was gross sin in your heart. This I know, you would not listen to My sweet Spirit of compassion. You judged the outside of a person, without regard to the fact that many were children in the faith. You were very hard. “Yes, you said you loved Me with your lips, but your heart was far from Me. You knew the ways of the Lord and you understood. You played with God, and God knows all things. If you had sincerely served God, you would not be here today. You cannot serve satan and God at the same time.”
Gossip is a huge problem in the church and sometimes gossip is very stealthy. Satan has a slick marketing trick that he sells to Christians. We don’t call gossip by it’s name. We like to call gossip by euphemisms like “sharing our concerns” or “venting to a brother or sister.”
"We like to call gossip by euphemisms like 'sharing our concerns' or 'venting to a brother or sister'."
"We gossip when we divulge unnecessary details in prayer requests"
We gossip when we divulge unnecessary details in prayer requests as if God needs to be brought up to speed on the entire situation. We like to think we are in the clear if we know that the information is true and we are simply being “honest” and “telling it like it is”. But Frank Clark correctly stated that “gossip needn’t be false to be evil – there’s a lot of truth that shouldn’t be passed around.”
"Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people."
Leviticus 19.16
They visit me as if they were my friends, but all the while they gather gossip, and when they leave, they spread it everywhere.
Psalms 41.6
A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends.
Proverbs 16.28
Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.
Romans 1.29
Seriously, do most of us lump gossip in with hate, murder and deception? Paul does. The church at Corinth also had an ugly list of problems and gossip made the list.
For I am afraid that when I come I won’t like what I find, and you won’t like my response. I am afraid that I will find quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly behavior.
2 Corinthians 2.20
"Think of how many times you have believed something to be true only to find out the information was mostly or even totally wrong."
Think of how many times you have believed something to be true only to find out the information was mostly or even totally wrong. I find it interesting that the threat of a libel or slander lawsuit will cause us to be cautious about our remarks in the public square. How naive that we think it is okay to denigrate a child of God and somehow think that there are no repercussions to that action. Are we really more concerned about the People’s Court than the Kingdom’s Court?
by Paster Rick Warren
Our problem is that:
1 We take ourselves too seriously &
2 We don’t take God seriously enough
God takes seriously how we communicate about others in the flock.
Peter said to “Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless-that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing“.
1 Peter 3.8 MSG
So there is an added bonus for your Godly communication…a blessing at no extra charge
The Holy Spirit prompted me to add, “And now, I charge you that if you ever hear another member speak an unkind word of criticism or slander against anyone — myself, an usher, a choir member, or anyone else–that you stop that person in mid-sentence and say, ‘Excuse me — who hurt you? Who ignored you? Who slighted you? Was it Pastor Cymbala? Let’s go to his office right now. He’ll apologize to you, and then we’ll pray together so God can restore peace to this body. But we won’t let you talk critically about people who aren’t present to defend themselves.’
“I’m serious about this. I want you to help resolve this kind of thing immediately. And know this: If you are ever the one doing the loose talking, we’ll confront you.
"The Holy Spirit prompted me -
if you ever hear another member speak an unkind word of criticism or slander against anyone --
pray together so God can restore peace to this body.
But we won't let you talk critically about people who aren't present to defend themselves."
- Pastor Jim Cymbala
To this day, every time we receive new members, I say much the same thing. That’s because I know what most easily destroys churches. It’s not crack cocaine, government oppression, or even lack of funds. Rather it’s gossip and slander that grieves the Holy Spirit.
"I know what most easily destroys churches. It's not crack cocaine, government oppression, or even lack of funds. Rather it's gossip and slander that grieves the Holy Spirit."
- Pastor Jim Cymbala
Powerful. And so achingly true. God is not glorified when we spread gossip and idle chatter. The test is very simple. If I am not part of the situation or a part of the solution I should not be talking about it. James is typically to the point in this brutally honest assessment.
A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.
James 3.6 MSG
Vaccinate yourself with a couple of scriptural truths about gossip. An injection of biblical truth and a dose of how God views gossip can control the deadly virus. And that will make the body of Christ a whole lot healthier.
Dear God,
Please help me not to gossip, listen to gossip or lie
Now I see how much You hate gossip and lying
And please help me to speak “only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs”
In Jesus’ name Amen
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. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Ephesians 4.29-30
But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him Colossians 3.8-10
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Wise virgins find out what pleases the Lord •
“find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose (reprove) them.
(Ephesians 5.10 NIV)
Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. (1 John 2.9)
Wise virgins (male & female) are virtuous “wives-to be” of Christ •
“Who can find a virtuous wife (a wife of valor, in the sense of all forms of excellence)? For her worth is far above rubies” (Proverbs 31.10)