Category Archives: Gossip

Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Direction, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Faithfulness, Gossip, Holy Spirit, Modeling, Parenting, Scripture, Thanksgiving, Witnessing

STOP TALKING LIKE THAT

2 TIMOTHY 2:16

“But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness,”

I just love the way the Holy Spirit led the writers of Scripture to use certain words. Take for instance the Greek word “worldly” in today’s verse. It is only used five times in the New Testament. Four of those times it is used by Paul writing to Timothy in his two letters to him. It means unauthorized access to something. It refers to people who are not fit to know God because they approach Him without faith. That was the kind of place Timothy was living. Sounds familiar.

And then we have the phrase “empty chatter” which is one Greek word and means babble or just hollow or empty talk. It’s only used here. Paul is telling Timothy to stay away from that kind of useless talk. It’s meaningless and just wastes time. Are you guilty of doing that?

APPLICATION

How do we teach our children this? The Lord doesn’t expect us to spend all our time speaking King James English and quoting verses. That is not what Paul is saying here. But our minds should be focused on the eternal. When we allow our minds to be cluttered with useless, trivial, worldly pursuits, we forget about the Lord and His purpose in our lives.

That’s why we teach our children to memorize His Word. That’s why we may ask, “What would Jesus do?” When we teach our children to keep that focus in our conversations, always running in the back of our mind, our thoughts are on Him. When we surrender our tongues to Him, He will give us the words to say.

I had to have my trucked towed recently, twice within about a two-hour span. I had the same tow truck driver the second time. When he got in the cab of his truck after loading my truck, he turned to me and jokingly said, “I bet you are ready to cuss this time.” Fortunately, I allowed the Spirit to speak and said, “This is just a temporal thing, brother. That truck’s not eternal. No biggie.” He was shocked, and I was able to share why I could say that with him. Watch your focus. Temporal or eternal?

Lord, You are my focus. I will not waste my time on empty, worldly conversations. I will approach You boldly because I am known by You and I know You.

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Advice, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Deception, Direction, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Forgiveness, Friends, Gossip, Lies, Mentoring, Modeling, Obedience

YOU JUST CAN’T HIDE IT

1 TIMOTHY 5:25

“Likewise also, deeds that are good are quite evident, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed.”

Have you ever tried to conceal a wrong? You messed up, you know it and now you are trying to hide it. Most of us have. Paul knew about wrong deeds. Remember his past? He had sought out and persecuted the believers. I am sure there were some things he did he wished he could have hidden. But he also knew that truth was the only way.

Paul is also warning us of the same. Some people’s good works are so evident. They may or may not want the attention for doing them, but the fact remains that did them. On the other hand, there are many who appear as good, yet try to conceal their true actions and motives. Paul is saying they will come out. Give it time.

APPLICATION

Teaching your little one to do good is something I am sure you are doing. We don’t have to teach them how to do bad stuff, do we? That comes naturally. And we know they are going to mess up. That’s unavoidable. What we must do, however, is teach them to own up to their mistakes, to confess, to make it right. Concealment only leads to bigger problems.

I can deal with just about any problem, but when someone outright lies to me, that’s hard to stomach. Trust is broke. Your children need to know that. And you need to be quick to deal with deception from your children. Quick and natural consequences are the key. Why? We want them to be truthful, even if it means they may suffer a consequence. 

So, how do you handle this yourself? Are you tempted to cover up your bad behaviors? Do you make excuses for your failures? Be upfront. Be honest. Take responsibility. Little ones are watching and listening. Let your good deeds be quite evident. Don’t be the one trying to conceal your wrong deeds.

O Lord, help me to be open and honest at all times. I represent You and want to draw all to you. Help me confess my wrongdoings and accept whatever consequence may come.

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Advice, Bible, Blameless, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Deception, Gossip, Lies, Mentoring, Parenting, Satan, Scripture, Trust

ACCUSED

1 TIMOTHY 5:19

“Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses.” 

We have probably all been accused of something we haven’t done. It’s not a fun thing to go through. You know you didn’t do it. You are positive they are wrong. But the longer the accusations go on, the less sure you are about your own innocence. Constant accusations can bring you down. That’s exactly what Satan wants. That’s exactly what Satan does.

It’s interesting that the Greek word here for “accusation” is also used in John 18:29 where Pilate asks the Jewish leaders what accusation they are bringing against Jesus. Even He was falsely accused. But unlike us, Jesus WAS completely innocent. He was sinless, yet He was accused. Living righteously does not protect you from being accused. 

APPLICATION

Probably one the best things you can teach your child is to be confident in who they are. Teach them to be forthright about their actions, to not hide their behaviors. That way if they are ever accused of something they haven’t done, they will be confident in themselves. They need to know, though, that following Jesus may just bring false accusations.

The world doesn’t like us shining the light of the Lord on their activities. When we stand for truth and God’s Word, the world will do all it can to shut us down. They will lie and make up things about us to try to shame us. Teach your kids now to stand up for the Lord, no matter what. Teach them to trust Him to defend and protect them against the enemy.

Are you trusting the Lord in your battles? Maybe you don’t have any battles because you have compromised your principles to fit in at work or community. If that is the case, repent. Stand up! Make your love for Christ known. Then you will know true freedom.

Father, I praise You for allowing me to suffer false accusations. I know the world cannot bring me down. They do not have the power to unseat You on the throne of my life.

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Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Confession, Forgiveness, God's Will, Gossip, Inspirational, Lies, Love, Mentoring, Modeling, Obedience, Parenting

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT?

1 TIMOTHY 5:13

“At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention.” 

Women get the bad reputation of being the gossipers, but have you have been to a barber shop? We men are just as bad, if not worse. Most of that gossip starts out as, “Did you hear about…” Or if the person telling the “news” is a believer, they may say, “Oh brother, we need to pray for…” Either way, it’s gossip.

That word in the Greek is only used right here. It has the idea of a pot that has boiled over, ruining whatever was in it and the area around it. That’s exactly what our gossip does. It ruins stuff, especially the reputation of the one gossiping and the one being gossiped about.

APPLICATION

This is a simple application. If you can’t catch this truth, maybe you need to go back to kindergarten. We teach our children that it is not nice to talk about people, and then we proceed to do it right in front of them. I know I have been guilty of that. Lord, please forgive me. As I said above, as believers we always disguise it as a prayer request, but it’s still gossip.

What would you do if your little Johnny was caught gossiping and spreading stuff about you? You would probably discipline him. So, what should the Lord do to you for doing the same thing? I am not saying He will, but you have definitely grieved His heart. Not living like Jesus grieves the Father’s heart. And we should never want to do that.

Are you a gossiper? Are you a “prayer request” giver? Make sure the news you are sharing about someone is true and appropriate. It may be completely true but is it worthy of sharing. Those little, juicy tidbits are so tempting, aren’t they? Don’t do it. Ask the Lord before you “share” that information. He will let you know if it is appropriate and worthy to be shared.

O Father in heaven, forgive me for gossip. Forgive me for talking about others. Forgive me for letting my desire to look better than someone else lead me to babble and boil over.

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