Thomas Watson makes a number of good points with regard to verbal persecution. He notes that “some think there is no persecution but fire and sword.” While we honor highly those who have bled for Christ, we have to acknowledge that Jesus identifies slanders and revilings as forms of persecution that His followers must endure. …
Silence is Good
A common way of sinning with the tongue is to talk a lot, aimlessly. This kind of verbal scribbling is certain to lead to tangles, problems, and difficulties. Scripture says, “He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, …
Kindness and Truth Together
One of the ways that we avoid biblical balance in speaking is by assuming some kind of distance between truth and kindness. But Scripture says, “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart” (Prov. 3:3). Merciful kindness and truth go together. They are …
Godly Cover Ups
One of Jane Austen’s characters (somewhere) says that honesty is a greatly over-rated virtue. Of course we should not take this as a basis for justifying ungodly lies or other forms of unrighteous deceit. But at the same time, we should recognize that within the Church there are a number of verbal sins which are …
Idleness and Gossip
Everyone knows that one of the sins of the tongue is gossip, but we are sometimes vague about what actually constitutes the sin. Gossip is not a sin that consists of simply passing on information. Saying something like, “Did you hear that Susan is engaged now?” is not gossip. Gossip is the sin of passing …
Another Source of Strife
Another source of strife is an inability to see a disagreement from the other’s point of view. An ability to do this is not a concession that this other point of view is correct, but it does show the flexibility of heart that is necessary for avoidance of intractable strife. Paul tells us that we …
Evil Suspicions
We are continuing to discuss the origins of verbal strife. The Bible teaches that there is a close correlation between strife and a certain kind of evil suspicion. Speaking of some who were proud and had ungodly attitudes, the apostle Paul warned Timothy about those who dote “about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh …
Oily Rags
We are considering verbal strife. Scripture teaches that such strife has certain preconditions. “Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife” (Prov. 26:20-21). The fire department tells …
A Slow Burn
It takes wisdom to understand the origins of strife. The Scriptures tell us that one source of strife is anger. “A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife” (Prov. 15:18). But often this is missed because the one who vents his anger succeeds in browbeating people into a …
Ceasing From Strife
We learn from Proverbs that it is an honor for a man to cease from strife (Prov. 20:3). This is one of many examples in Scripture that show how the wisdom of God is 180 degrees out from the wisdom of man. In how many fruitless quarrels have participants refused to back down from the …