“An evildoer listens to wicked lips; and a liar gives heed to a mischievous tongue. Those who mock the poor insult their Maker; those who are glad at calamity will not go unpunished.”
Gossip. Gossip. Gossip. Our society lives and breathes gossip. Just go to any news site on the Internet. There are usually three categories: hard news, sports, and “entertainment” (gossip). In fact, even in a small town newspaper, how much is reporting on good things that happen and how much is reporting on horrible things?
We have some dear friends who lost their daughter, a number of years ago, in a late night auto accident. Only her car was involved and it was a case of a teenager driving too fast and too recklessly. The car ended up at the bottom of a difficult and steep road, absolutely totaled. Of course, it was devastating to lose their daughter in that way. But the local news organizations continued to put pictures of the car in the newspaper and on TV for several weeks. The mother told me later that seeing those pictures over and over again was horrible for them. They finally stopped watching TV for over a month in order to stop seeing those pictures.
I’ve always asked myself. What was the reason for the news continuing to show the pictures? Ultimately, I think it came down to shock appeal. Shock, outlandishness. Those things sell newspapers, sell TV shows. And they sell because we are addicted to gossip, to wanting to know all the horrible details about someone else’s life.
“Those who are glad at calamity will not go unpunished.” We have desensitized ourselves to the pain of others. I remember back this year to some things done by a famous young singer. It seemed like she kept wanting to one up herself in outrageous behavior. But meanwhile, somewhere there were people who loved her (children, parents, grandparents, friends) who were grieved by her choices. And all the while, the world looks on and rejoices that there’s something new to put on the news.
Why should we listen to any of this?
“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5 NRSV).
Set their minds on the things of the Spirit. I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. What kinds of things are the things of the Spirit? Well, mainly, love. Yes, the Spirit (God) is also justice and peace and power and might. But Father God is always leaning His heart toward us, toward all of us.
Have you ever criticized anyone only to find out that their choice—which you originally thought was wrong or senseless or stupid—was actually backed by an extremely good motivation? A motivation about which you knew nothing? 1 Corinthians 13:7 says that love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (NRSV). Why does it believe all things? Because, I think (and this is still something I’m working on) that believing all things means believing that people have the best motive, the best intentions when they do something. And while I may not understand that motivation, I’m not going to slam them for it. Instead, even if I’m hurt by their choice, their decision, I’m going to believe that they only had the best intention at heart.
Have you ever made a decision only to completely blow it? Rather than criticism, isn’t it way more comforting to have people understand and forgive? To me, that understanding and forgiving spirit is to be setting “our minds on the things of the Spirit.” Because what is the Spirit’s response to our stupidity, our sin? To want to forgive!
I looked up the definition of “mock” in the dictionary. One of the meanings is “to disappoint the hopes of.” (I had no idea). Often, when we ridicule people (even when we think we do it behind their backs), we can crush their hopes. Certainly if we’re Christians, we can crush their hopes that God has made a difference in our lives (and therefore, could make a difference in theirs if they chose to believe).
If we believe that people have the best intentions (and when they fail are only making human and stupid mistakes), then gossip and evil talking becomes a thing of the past. We no longer care to hear about criticism. Instead, our lives will be about reaching out gently and in love to those around us, particularly those who have made (and possibly habitually make) bad decisions, bad choices. People don’t choose to fail on purpose. They choose to fail because they either make a bad choice or they have lost their hope. The Spirit continues to forgive. We should, too.
© 2008 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. International copyright reserved. This study may be copied for nonprofit and/or church purposes only without permission when copied in its entirety (including this notice).
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