EPH 4:1-6; JAMES 3:4-18; 1 COR 1:10-11
For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. James 3:16 (NKJV)
Sunday morning, the church was a buzz with confusion. You could feel the tension in the air. It was a tight and anxious feeling. You could scan through the crowd and see some talking in whispered tones with angry scowls on their face. Some were in whispered tones with “can you believe it, why I’ve never….” Some looked confused, looking to and fro, trying to make sense of the whole situation.
The crowd came to a slow hush as the pastor stepped into the pulpit. With tears streaming down his face and his voice broken with emotion, he spoke with humility.
An Awful Thing
“Something awful has happened to this congregation this week. Someone allowed the devil to fill in the blanks in their minds over a situation. Through their misinterpretation, they began to report something as truth that was a lie. It has been reported that I am having an affair.”
The Blank Filled In
“This report comes from someone who, passing by my office one day this past week, looked through the window in my door and saw me hugging a beautiful young woman. From that, the blank that was filled in was, ‘the pastor must be having an affair.’”
“I heed the Biblical warning of ‘abstaining from the very appearance of evil.’ Therefore, I do not hug women I am not related to. This young lady came to my office in tears and broken over the news she had just received from the doctors of her two-year-old son. That news was that her two-year-old boy was diagnosed with an advanced stage of Leukemia. She knew that she was away from God and was ready to come back to Him.
The Mystery Woman
This young lady I was seen hugging in my office is my sister’s daughter, my niece. She’s more like a daughter to me than a niece. I watched her grow up, and as a child through early teens, she was on fire for God. I also watched in heartache as she walked away from God as a teenager because of unfounded rumors and judgments about her youth pastor, which caused dissension in the youth group. I have wept with my sister on more than one occasion for God to reach her and bring her back to Him. This week, God was bringing her back to Him. I willingly embraced my loved one because she was hurt, afraid, and repentant.
When the news of this awful and unfounded rumor was reported to me, my immediate thoughts were not of my reputation but of my niece. With all the hurt from her youth over “church people” using their tongues to spread judgments and dissension, would she stay with God or once again walk away dismayed over “Christians”?
What’s The Focus?
It appears that those who allow their tongues to be used to spread rumors, dissension, and judgment are not at all concerned about Christ’s command and commission to the church and His followers. “Look unto the harvest fields and bring in the harvest.” These individuals are inward-focused, trying to find the faults of others rather than seeking to save the lost. Folks, no one has to look very long to find plenty of faults. We will all have them and will continue to until we reach heaven.
Promoting the Devils Scheme
Do you see how easy it is for us to fall prey to the devil’s tactics to fill in the blanks? But what’s worse than allowing the devil to fill in the blanks is using our tongue to promote such. At the very least, instead of going to others, that person should have come to me and questioned me about what they saw. I could have accurately filled in the blanks, and none of this horrible event would have happened.
Casting the First Stone
However, I do not stand here today to cast a condemning stone at you. I, like the Pharisees, when questioned by Jesus, “he who is without sin let him cast the first stone,” cannot cast one. I, too, have, at times, allowed the devil to fill in the blanks, and I didn’t pursue the truth to verify the answer I filled in the blank with.
The Lesson to Learn
May we all learn not to fill in the blanks without testing the validity and truthfulness of the answers to which we ascribe to those blanks. May we learn to hold our tongue in subjection to Christ and keep our eyes outward to the harvest.”
“He who loves purity of heart … has grace on his lips,” Prov 22:11a (NKJV).
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