Bible study series: week 4: Gossip and Silence

Gossip and Silence

Ephesians 4:29: “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. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

1 Corinthians 3:16-17: “Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.”

James 1:26: “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.”

James 3:2: “We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man (in Greek this means the most spiritually mature), able to keep his whole body in check.”

James 3:9-11: “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt^[a] water flow from the same spring?”

Mark 7:6: (It’s not really a tongue issue, but a heart issue)

 “"Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:  'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”

Matthew 12:34-37

“You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

THINK:

T- True- Matthew 5:37: “Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”

H- Helpful- Eph 4:29 above

I- Inspirational—Does it bring glory to God?

N- Necessary—Where words are many, sin is not absent (James)

K- Kind—Colossians 4:6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone., Prov 12:25—“An anxious heart weighs a man down,  but a kind word cheers him up.”

Silence: 

One aspect of silences is closing ourselves off from every sound that we can…making solitude a reality.  This aspect of silence can be frightening, like solitude, because it strips us of certain comforts and bares our soul to ourselves…leaving only us and God. And what if there turns out to be very little between just us and God?  However,  it will allow life transforming concentration upon God. It allows us to hear the gentle God whose only Son “shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice above the street noise” (Matt. 12:19).  It is this God who tells us that “in quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15). 

             

Another aspect of silence is not speaking. James tells us that those who seem religious but are unable to bridle their tongues are self-deceived and have a religion that amounts to little (1:26).  He also states that those who do no harm by what they say are perfect and able to direct their whole bodies to do what is right (3;2).  This discipline provides us with a certain inner distance that gives us time to consider our words fully before our tongues just go off and the presence of mind to control what we say and when we say it.  We also learn how to listen better to others and observe, to pay attention to others. A major problem in Christian evangelism is not getting people to talk, but to silence those who through their continuous chatter reveal a loveless heart devoid of confidence in God…true listening is often the strongest testimony of our faith.  We often run off at the mouth because we are inwardly uneasy about what others think of us. People who love one another can be silent together, but when we are with those we feel less than secure with, we use words to adjust our appearance and elicit their approval. Otherwise, we fear that our virtues might not receive adequate appreciation and our shortcomings might not be properly understood. In not speaking, we resign how we appear to God, and that is hard.  But if God is for us and Jesus is on his right hand pleading our interests, why must we worry what others think of us? But we do, and it is exciting to be freed from it. How few of us live with quiet inner confidence and yet how many of us desire it. Such inward quiet is a great grace we can receive.

Questions:

1. Check your heart to see why you gossip. What is the root in your heart why you (or others) might gossip?
2. What word in the THINK acrostic do you have a hard time putting into action?
3. Do you think silence will really help put you in a place where God can transform your heart as it pertains to your tongue and your words?
4. How might one practice this discipline? (Ie. a possible strategy of implementation)