As many of you know, I will be publishing James, a book on the letter of James, in early 2016. In anticipation of that, I will be posting snippets of the book for all of you to enjoy. Here is the first sneak preview:

Smear Job

Recently, I was listening to a podcast by Judah Smith, pastor of City Church in Seattle, about Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 13:7 concerning love, which reads, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Smith broke it down into four main topics, the first being “Love bears all things”. Explaining that the word “bear” in this phrase contains the same root word for “roof” in Greek. He described this act of bearing all things as protecting others so that they have the opportunity to work out their faults and sins in safety. This is opposed to the habit of speaking “evil against one another”, which is gossip that zeroes in on the faults of others. What James is warning against here is waving around other people’s dirty laundry.

When we humbly confront other Christians in their sins, we give them the opportunity to open up and show us their wounds. With a physical wound, you must first clean it, put salve on it, and then wrap it up to protect it from the elements. In Christ, we have the opportunity to work with the Holy Spirit to clean, anoint, and wrap up spiritual and emotional injuries. But, when we gossip, we are ripping open the bandages of Christians who are attempting to heal, which will hurt them and potentially damage our relationships with them.

I didn’t grow up with a tendency toward gossip, but I have tasted its bewitching sweetness and can see how it could easily ensnare me if I let myself enjoy it. The draw of gossip becomes compounded when we consider how difficult it is to identify gossip. If we all reflect for a moment, we’ll see that there seems to be a very blurry line between gossip and sharing information in attempt to get advice. Because it is not easily noticed, we can gossip under the guise of trying to help another person. I was very confused about how to articulate the difference until I heard of a great acid test to know whether I am about to gossip or not: Just ask yourself, “Is my motivation centered on helping the person I’m about to talk about?” This question helps us read our hearts and make the call. When I ask myself that question, I usually get a fast, hard “yes” or “no” in my spirit. If I am not sure, I abstain from sharing.

This question also aids in determining whether or not we should be sharing this information with the particular person or people we are with. You may have the best intentions, but if you know the people you are talking with consistently gossip, this question will raise a big red flag. If you know someone who shares a lot of other people's secrets with you, they will likely be sharing what you divulge with others. In the end, we serve others best when we do one of two things: Keep silent, or pure-heartedly seek the advice of trustworthy, helpful people.

For more information on James, click here.