Grinnin' In Your Face

"You know they'll jump you up and down

They'll carry you all 'round and round

Just as soon as your back is turned

They'll be tryin' to crush you down"

Son House

no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil,  full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

James 3:8-10

Gossip..... The church's acceptable sin.  One of the most destructive sins in the world is also one of the most overlooked.  Let us no longer settle for the ways of the world.  Let us be transformed into the image of Christ.  Let us take captive of our thoughts and make them obedient to Christ.  Let us pray for those that we may not like or annoy us.  Let us learn to love like Christ loved.  Maybe then we'll be able to guard our tongues from destroying others.  How flippantly we are with our conversations, that we tear down people and not even realize that we've done it.  Then we immediately turn around and praise our God and Father.  How many times have we've been hurt by the words of others?  For a long time, I took what people said about me personally, which gave Satan a foothold in my life.  In crept anger and then bitterness.  Over time, I saw my faith wither away while my anger and bitterness grew.  The simple truth of the Gospel is that we will be talked about.  Christ promises us, that by following Him, we will suffer.  And in some instances, our suffering may consist of people dragging our name through the mud.  They certainly drug Christ's and Paul's name through the mud.  If we cannot handle the things people say about us, how then can we handle the other things that will come our way because we follow Christ?  So let us smile in the faces of those that talk behind our backs and let us no longer live like the world and engage in gossip.  We were redeemed and set apart.  Let us live in the light so that the world can see all our good works wrought in God!  Let's use our tongues to praise our Father and build up those around us.