Elijah replied, I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father's house, by forsaking the commandments of the Lord and by following the Baals. (I Kings 18:18, Amplified)
There are some things that make me . . . well . . . very, very, cranky. One of those things is called gossip. I do not like gossip. In fact, I can't stand gossip. . . I love the gossiper and want to help the gossiper . . . but the gossiper needs to face the truth about what they are doing. Gossipers are more interested in attracting attention through their words than the truth. Gossipers cause friendships to break, marriages to dissolve, and trust to disappear. Gossipers lack courage and truth.
I am getting cranky just writing about gossip . . . I had one friend that lost his job because of gossip . . . even though there was an apology and words were retracted . . . damage occurred. One person began with adding a sentence or two in conversations that made people think he might not be doing his job appropriately. It took time but through the process of gossip, seeds of distrust were planted . . . words were twisted and turned until truth had been lost.
I Kings 18 records the discussion Elijah had a face to face conversation with King Ahab. He did not waste his time, effort, or energy on gossip. He spoke with courage and truth. Someone needed to face the king and confront what he was doing . . . Elijah confronted with truth . . . plain . . . simple . . . powerful truth and used it as a tool to change the world. The words were God empowered. Words both influence and impact for the good or destroy. Words are either constructive or destructive . . . encouraging or discouraging . . . focused on God or self . . . tools or weapons. How we use our words will shape and form the course of not only how we live but will have a ripple effect on families, neighborhoods, churches, schools, workplaces, and communities.
Proverbs tells us words can be life giving and refreshing:
A person's words can be life-giving water; words of true wisdom are as refreshing as a bubbling brook. (Proverbs 18:4, NLT)
Take time to assess how you use your words.
Are your words tools or weapons?
What do your words say about you?
Use words that are life-giving and refreshing.
Refuse to gossip.
Use your words for good.
Learning with you to use words as tools rather than weapons,
Shalom,
Kerrie
(All devotions written by Kerrie Palmer ©2008 All Rights Reserved)
