Bitter Pill
Sacred and Genuine vs. Slander and Hatred
[I had a hard time writing this, but I chose to write to be a blessing to people. People experiences pain, trauma, sufferings, and hopelessness because of slander and hatred. I sense something sacred, genuine, godly and love is the main missing link in the most cases. We have to remember that hatred can also be expressed by indifference. God’s word gives hope to the hopeless. God is near to the broken hearted, and His Mighty Hand is powerful enough to reach anyone in greater depths. Pagans will do pagan things; but there is a fine line of separation between a pagan and a non-practicing Christian. Very often that fine line can merge!]
First of all, slander is
not at all the fruit of the Spirit.
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you; Ephe. 4: 31-32.
But, the fruit of the spirit is,
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law; Ephe. 4: 22-23.
Strong's Greek: 984. βλάπτω (blaptó) -- To harm, to injure, to damage
Strong’s Greek 984 denotes the infliction of injury, loss, or disadvantage. Scripture restricts its use to situations in which supernatural protection prevents expected harm.[i]
Strong's Greek: 2163. εὔφημος (euphémos) -- Of good report, reputable ...
Nestled among “true,” “honorable,” “right,” “pure,”
and “lovely,” the term directs believers to fill their thoughts with realities
that enjoy a good reputation before God and people.[ii]
He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool; Prov. 10:18.
Whoever hides hatred: “This is a common case.
How many, when full of resentment, and deadly hatred, meditating revenge and
cruelty, and sometimes even murder, have pretended that they thought
nothing of the injury they had sustained; had passed by the
insult, etc.! Thus lying lips covered the malevolence
of a wicked heart.” (Clarke)
Passing along an evil story about another, or giving a false narrative is condemned by God. The Bible says it is harsh words about the other person and is not kind. Maligning other people’s character, and wrecking their reputation, and thinking what we are doing about others is smartness, is deceit and that we ourselves are deceived in that process.
“Unlike the fool’s insolent speech
that hurts himself in hurting others, gossip destroys the relationship of
others, even the closest friends.” (Waltke)
This is not killing a person with a knife, but that person has already murdered them; their character with the special wonderful organ God had provided, and that is our tongue. Our tongues are wonderfully designed by our Creator to glorify God! OR, do we want to get even with another person, because of jealousy? Murdering another person with evil thoughts, intentions, gossip and saying all sorts of evil things?
“The words of a gossip [talebearer]
in an unguarded moment may inflict irreparable injury. This evil may be
welcomed in certain circles that thrive on scandal. But that does not alter the
real character of a gossip, who is detested by both God and man.” (Bridges)
We beleivers in Christ are asked to check the tales of a tale bearer. This is because the words of a tale bearer will have an effect on our system as well. Since we are all wired differently and wonderfully, the words will go down into us; it often changes the way we think and feel about people.
Once we start eating these tasty
trifles, it is hard to stop. “When such tasty bits are taken into the
innermost being, they stimulate the desire for more.” (Ross)
This is the third time I am coming to you. In the
mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established; 2
Cori. 13: 1.
God gave a strong word regarding the confirmation of the testimony or the tales of people in Deut. 19: 15; 2 Cori. 13: 1; 1 Tim. 5: 19 and in many other references as well.
Health
Effects of hate in general are: increased stress levels, Mental
Health Disorders; Cardiovascular Problems; Weakened Immune System; and it has Impact
on Brain Health as well. Neuroscience research on hatred show the
following results;
When people view the face of someone they hate, brain scans show a consistent pattern of increased activity across several regions: the putamen (deep in the brain’s core, involved in perceiving contempt and disgust), the insula (which processes gut feelings and emotional reactions), the premotor cortex (which plans physical movement), and the medial frontal gyrus (involved in evaluating and predicting other people’s behavior). A landmark neuroimaging study found that three of these areas, the right insula, right premotor cortex, and right frontal-medial gyrus, lit up in direct proportion to how intensely someone reported hating the person they were looking at. The more hate, the stronger the signal.[iii]
In the multitude of
words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise; Prov. 10: 19.
Slandering
a person, and harming the reputation of a person, according to God’s word, that
person is a fool. Are we one of the slanderers? There is more potential to sin,
when we talk more than listening. All of us can bless others and keep
ourselves from sinning, by speaking less, and restraining our lips. We are
called to bless people and not curse.
He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his
brother, is in darkness even until now; 1 Jn. 2: 9.
If we lose love then we lose everything. One can do all the right things, believe all the right truths, and stay in love. If we do not love other Christians, then all is lost. This is because Christ is love. Moral values, doctrine, and love, the three tests should stand together, like the legs on a three-legged stool.
Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and
ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him; 1 Jn.
3: 15.
Slander, hatred, jealousy and bitterness are found with dead people who are not revived by Christ’s love. I mean in those people in whom the Spirit of Christ does not dwell, and hence they are dead in their own trespasses. We all have to live life, and that is found in the Spirit of Christ, which is the Holy Spirit; wind of God, Ruach Hakkadosh.
Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all
sins; Prov. 10: 12.
The words of a talebearer are as wounds, And they go down into the innermost parts of the belly; Prov. 18: 8.
Yet the damage the talebearer
brings is great. “He that takes away a man’s good name kills him alive, and
ruins him and his posterity; being herein worse than Cain, for he, in killing
his brother, made him live for ever, and eternalized his name.” (Trapp)
Thy
words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and
rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts; Jer. 15: 16.
The above are the most painful prayers
of the Prophet Jeremiah. He had a better option when people talk ill of him,
because he has God’s word and God with him.
“He is alienated from
his people because of his witness, yet he has no choice but to proclaim God’s
word to a recalcitrant nation. He is a lonely, anxious man, yet one who
rejoices that God dwells in his heart.” (Harrison)
