ARE YOU UNDER A CURSE?

Do you remember Senator Joseph McCarthy? He was a Wisconsin senator from 1947-1957. During a series of widely publicized hearings he made reckless accusations and doggedly pursued those whom he classified as Communists in the government. Careers were ruined on the flimsiest evidence or simply by his say so. In time the Senate voted to "condemn" him for his actions. His indiscriminate attacks gave rise to the term "McCarthyism," which denotes similar assaults characterized by sensationalist tactics and unsubstantiated accusations.

In Deuteronomy 27:24 Moses wrote, "Cursed is the man who kills his neighbor secretly." Now how can someone kill another "secretly"? The answer is GOSSIP. Does the Bible have anything to say about gossip?

Lev 19:16 "Do not go about spreading slander among your people."

Ps 101:5 "Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, him will I put to silence."

Proverbs 26:20 says, "Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies." Are there quarrels in your family or church?

In II Corinthians 12:20 Paul wrote, "I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder." Paul is speaking of the church in Corinth, which he described as a group of immature Christians. What about your church?

In Romans 1:29 Paul described the world (not the church) as "They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful." Did you notice that gossips and slanderers are listed along with murderers? This is the way Paul described the world. What about your church?

The church is to be producing the fruit of the Spirit of God listed in Gal 5:22-23 as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. This is what we should all experience in our churches. What about your church?

The first trait of the fruit of the Spirit of God is love. I Cor 13:4-7 says that love is patient, kind, doesn’t envy or boast. Love is not proud, rude, self seeking, easily angered. Love does not keep a record of wrongs (holding grudges).

What about your church?

Gossip and slander are taken seriously by God. Moses says that those who do so are cursed. Those who do are not exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit of God. Those who do are in the same category as worldly sinner.

Just as we love ourselves in spite of our faults; should'nt we love others despite their faults? And if we are willing to rationalize and excuse our faults; shouldn't we be willing to do the same for others?

And have you noticed that when you hate someone you can't see any of his good traits and that you want to believe all the bad that is said about him?

When Jesus said that we should to do others what we would want them to do to us, shouldn't we avoid gossip and slander? Christians should avoid gossip and slander.

What about your church? What about YOU?