61. Dealing With Gossip Nehemiah 6:6.

The only way to avoid criticism is to say nothing, do nothing and be nothing. Know this; When you attempt anything of value or significance, people are going to talk about you. However, I have found, if what I am doing is for The Lord and through His direction there is nothing to fear, because if it is from The Lord it will bare fruit, and if it’s not it will soon die down. ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained.’ And most importantly,, God is always looking for a humble heart and willing spirit. Nehemiah’s enemies tried to stop him from rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem by using gossip and innuendo. In Nehemiah 6:6-7, we read “It is reported among the Nations” - “Geshem says it is true…” “moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem.” Notice no source was given of the accusations against Nehemiah ‘It is reported’. Always be prepared when someone comes to you and says something like...I heard… or somebody said...or the word on the street is… Never receive a criticism from someone who is bringing it on behalf of someone else, someone they won’t name or someone who won’t say it to your face. Not even slander could keep Nehemiah from the work he was doing. Note how he responded ”I sent him this reply. Nothing of what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up.” In other words he said to them; I don’t care what you think, I’m going to keep building this wall until the job is done. And that must be our attitude too. If God has called you or me to do a particular job, just do it regardless. Your true friends will trust you enough to know you are obeying God, and won’t need an explanation and your enemies wouldn’t believe you even if you held them at gunpoint. Stay focused and trust God to get the job done. James gives us a Scripture which we need to keep in mind, He says in 1:26 “Those who do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves and their religion is worthless.” When someone gossips about you, think this way...People tend to accuse in others what they excuse in themselves. Don’t allow them to project their fears, feelings and problems on to you. Hold your own and stand your ground. Lady Astor a British Parliamentarian was a constant thorn in the side of Winston Churchill and was always criticising him. One day the two got into a heated argument, and she said, “Winston, I don’t like your politics, and I don’t like your moustache, and if I were your wife I would poison your coffee”. To which the Statesman replied, “Madam I see no earthly reason why you should ever come in contact with either, my politics or my moustache and if I were your husband I’d drink the coffee!!!. Jesus’ critics accused Him of being demon-possessed, Paul’s critics called him a madman a fool and a babbler. So we cannot expect different treatment from the same crowd. We ourselves need to guard against Gossip. It is so easy to do, we can all find an excuse or reason to do it. It seems to be part of human nature to put ourselves higher than the person we are discussing. This is one of Satan’s hidden tools; but like all he does, he just prods our pride and tells us we would never do what our victim is doing. But you know what? The reason we recognise that problem so readily in others is, because it currently is, or has been a problem in our own lives too. So we need to think carefully before we speak. I once had a lovely teacher who always told us, “if you can’t say something nice about someone, say nothing at all,” because “Out of the mouth the heart speaks’ So zip it! Pure mouth, pure heart, that is how we are judged, by both God and man. Thank you for reading my thoughts on “Gossip” God help and Bless us all. Phaline