I’m very sensitive to dating. Today, as I write, I am doing ten years of work in my company, many blessings received and all the professional growth that came to mind, for example, have exceeded my duties as husband and elder, I remember after signing the contract. , I spent time listening to representatives from different sectors of the company, all this was very informative, but I remember in particular an already experienced manager and eager to give good advice to beginners for a promising career, gave several, but I only remembered one of them, the first and most important: “Don’t say bad things about anyone. “
Perhaps he was just an ungodly man giving pragmatic advice, perhaps he had no authentic spiritual value. But there was a real insight that Christians often miss, not just in the professional context, but also in the church setting. Few sins have as much potential to destroy a church or a ministry. Why? On the one hand, it is a very obvious commandment, I know true believers who are seriously convinced that it is not a sin to masturbate, but I have never met anyone who has not seen a problem knowing that someone has said bad things about him. On the other hand, the pretexts that claim to justify exceptions to the rule are so abundant that it is easy, with one exception, to become a stubborn slanderer without even realizing it.
- Of course.
- This is not a sin I know in theory.
- I have already asked forgiveness from some brethren for having said bad things about them and others for allowing others to do so in my presence.
- Yet the gravity of this sin was particularly clear to me from the moment I was ordained an old man.
- And this in two ways.
- First.
- The brethren began to feel more inclined to trust me and confess their sins (which is good); but the will to confess other people’s sins has also increased considerably.
- Bringing new and complicated challenges to my limited wisdom.
- Secondly.
- I understood better the weight of my pastoral authority: respect for my brothers and sisters was a double-edged sword.
- And I could easily turn them on against each other without even realizing it.
I confess that I wanted my tongue slides to be nothing but nonsense of a young man and not threats of scandal and division throughout the church. It was then that I entered the minds of James, who wrote, “My brethren, shall not many of you teachers become, knowing that we will receive greater judgment?(Tg 3. 1). Then I understood why the sequence of the text had to be: “Because we all come across a lot of things. If someone doesn’t stumble as he speaks, is he a perfect man, able to hold his whole body too?(v. 2). Very natural, since leadership in the church is exercised precisely with the language. The painful dissertation on this organ culminates at the point of our immediate interest: “With it we bless the Lord and the Father; Also, with her, do we curse men made in the likeness of God?(v. 9). It is impossible not to remember the two great commandments. The church is a place where no one speaks ill of God, but the second great commandment is, in the words of the Lord, “Similar?to the first in a deeper sense than one might suppose.
I’m talking about? High? From my experience as an elder (but nobody envies a height that makes you dizzy), and in fact the sin in question is all the more serious the greater the authority of someone, because the model works for better and for worse. But it is clear that each member of a church has an important role in the arduous fight for its peace. This must be part of the reason, I now realize, that the Bible is full of commands on this subject, which generally go unnoticed despite their abundance. I only quote Tiago himself: “Well, where there is envy and feelings of factions, there is confusion and all kinds of bad things. However, the wisdom from above is, first, pure; then peaceful, forgiving, tractable, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, unpretentious? (v. 16-17). Each of these eight adjectives has direct relevance for those who want to take care of their heart in this regard. Take a minute of your time to reflect on your behavior in light of each of these words. I doubt their community life will be the same after that. At the very least, it will begin to cease to be.
I do not want to deny that there are situations in which it is necessary to talk about the sins of people in their absence. Church councils should manage disciplinary procedures; it is necessary to discuss the qualifications of the brothers for the positions; a believer may need to complain, seek pastoral support to reconcile with someone, or clarify facts about others to be helped in their own sins and challenges; conversations can take unexpected turns that make it morally obligatory to take a position on what someone has done wrong. But such situations, by their very nature, are rare and should be avoided as much as possible; Whoever participates in it should speak as little as possible, with fear and tremor, if the subject is treated with pleasure or indifference, if it is a frequent habit, whether there are preferential recipients or a captive audience, in which each group uses pretexts to rise at the expense of the degradation of others, then, without a doubt, there is something very wrong, hidden only by what can be correct.
There is a good biblical standard for judging so many situations and people’s performance, especially ours. James concludes the chapter by talking about this: “Now, is the fruit of justice sown in peace for those who promote peace? (v. 18). ? Don’t you speak bad? it is a negative and specific court order; the most general principle is: be a peacemaker. The question is, do we want to promote peace and are we good at it? When I talk about a brother with other brothers, am I helping to bring them closer or separate them? Are the hearts of the listeners touched by admiring the qualities of this brother? To bear your sins more patiently? Spend time in heartfelt and painful prayer for him? Do you want to be with him? Otherwise, we use the language that God has given us to divide the church of Christ, becoming this seventh thing that God’s soul hates: Six things the Lord hates, and the seventh thing hates her soul: haughty eyes. , a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that hatches perverse plans, hurried feet to collide with evil, false testimony that tells lies and sows conflicts between brothers? (Pr 6. 16-19).
In contrast to this, Jesus offers us the honor of being called children of God for having acted as peacemakers (Mt 5:9). Many of the most grateful memories of my pastoral work are times when I sat down with two people, simultaneously or not, to try to reconcile them. I have not always succeeded, but I guarantee you that few of the joys of Christian life are comparable to this one. If you are part of the faction team, know that this is the saddest side, but Jesus can change suitors into peacemakers. Start with important little things: look for your own reconciliation. Until then, and thereafter, don’t speak ill of anyone.