I am posting my "in the word" post early this week..
I Just have a Scripture on my mind and want to get out some thoughts.
GEN 9
20 Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father's nakedness.
I know we have moments where we act as Ham did and moments we act as Shem and Japheth did. I feel a real urging to really check to make sure we are vigilant in covering one another. I wonder if Shem and Japheth encouraged one another to do the right thing, I wonder if Ham had an accountability partner at that moment, would he have chosen different. It is so important in our friendships to spur one another on. It is of no benefit to them or to us to simply listen to the gossip. Or to watch them act out without speaking up. And as a woman I know we got that gossiping mentality in us, we just want to know everything. And we do try to season it with grace by adding at the end of a really great story, "just pray for them". Speaking about so in so is not helping their race and it is slowing ours down.
I work in a place where all the time everyone is talking about someone, and most the time I just listen, sometimes I join in, but lately I have either walked away or even stuck up for the person being talked about. Which is so hard for me, because I cringe at the thought of confrontation. But I want to be effective in my walk with God, so i need them to see more than the fact I don't cuss or that I don't get mad or some other things they point out about me. I need them to know I would not talk about them or listen to others talk about them , and that I would cover them.
So just be on the lookout for not only ways to cover someone but also chances to choose to walk away.. from whatever...
4 comments:
I know I don't want to be Ham. I don't want to be the one to leave the loved one uncovered. He also aided in exposing the nakedness when he went out and told people about it! Ugh, how sad. Unfortunately, I have walked away and joined in conversation about the "naked" one. It just makes me sad to think of that. I want the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart to be pleasing and acceptable to my Lord!
I had a friend tell me recently that when her sister is around people gossiping she says, "I don't know that to be true about____". She said it makes the people scatter!
Love to you on another beautiful day!
Angie xoxo
This is so good! And so true! I confess that I have not always walked away or "covered" for someone when gossip was concerned. This post has made me want to do BETTER!
Thank you for always sharing your heart!
God bless you!
Marilyn in MS
I am saddened and embarrassed at how many times I have been involved with gossip - either yapping away, tearing someone down, or listening to it and therefore approving it.
The last time this happened, it started innocently enough. I did not plan to speak badly of someone, but I did and mid-sentence God spoke to me and told me to ask my friend if we could stop right there and pray for the person, who is a sister in Christ. AND I DIDN'T DO IT. I was so sorry I didn't and asked God to remind me of that if the situation came around again. (Of course, if I live very long it will because we are prone to love the "details"!)
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