This past Sunday I had the opportunity to go to church and worship and be a student in bible study rather than the teacher. I always enjoy these kinds of opportunities. In the bible study we were studying the book of James together and talking about how we use our words. One intriguing question that came up during the study was, "When you have an opportunity to hear some gossip, how do you respond?"
There was a lot of good discussion in the group about this question and while we were talking this thought occured to me. How can we make Jesus Lord in this kind of situation? When a friend says they have some good gossip about someone, how can we let Christ be Lord in that situation?
Here's the deal. Gossip is tantalyzing to us. It's like a tasty tid bit that many times we love to hear, then pass on to others. But the Bible teaches us that gossiping is not a good thing, because it hurts others. So, when confronted with the opportunity to hear or participate in gossip, I can choose to honor God, or I can choose to honor my fleshly desire to hear and spread that gossip. And the question is, will I make Jesus Lord in that situation? We have a choice in those moments.
I shared this thought with the group that I was studying with, and said that I was not sure how this looks. I mean, how do you make Christ Lord in this situation? In a very practical way, how can I honor Christ when it comes to dealing with gossip?
So that's my question for this week. How can make Jesus Lord when given the opportunity to hear or spread gossip? I'd love to hear the different ways that you have used to deal with this matter.
Have a great week, and as always, I'd love to hear from you.
In Christ,
Pastor Mike
