Ssssh! Say Nothing

"Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge." James 4:11

This has got to be one of the hardest things for most people. You mean we shouldn't say anything negative about each other? I don't know about y'all, but sometimes people get on my nerves so bad that I feel a need to get all the negatives I feel about them out of my system verbally. Usually I feel the need to vent with a friend or loved one. However great doing this may feel to me, according to scripture, it is not the right thing to do.

The Father has left clear instructions for us to follow concerning how we speak about each other. From what I read in this passage, there is no room for negative speaking about a person - especially behind their back, ie (backbiting). Ewww! that sounds horrible! No one wants to be called a backbiter, least of all someone striving to be the best son or daughter of God they can be. But the truth is, friends, when we do these things, that's exactly what we become.

If you read James 4 in it's entirity, you will find that much of our need to do such things is to feed our own fleshly desires. Our number one desire is to feed our "pride". The human flesh always wants to feel like we're on top! We are fed constantly by the media to put ourselves first and to always make sure we win in every situation. And when I say win - I mean in a worldly way. Doesn't matter who you step on to get what you want and where you want to go.

This is not the Godly way to behave. Which brings me back to speaking evil against your brother (or sister). It's just unacceptable before The Father. The Word tells us to go to that brother if we have a grudge and speak to them. But, when you speak, you should speak the truth in love. You must not speak in a way to cut a person down or to hurt their feelings. More often than not, we don't even need to speak to that person, we just need to forgive and go on. Sometimes we need to let that relationship go if that person's spirit is of such that it continually causes you to want to verbalize negatively about them.

We must learn to do that which many of us find so very hard to do. We must be quiet and seek The Father's direction. Sometimes it's best to just say, "nothing". Much peace and respect to each and every one of you!