Yelling and Gossip

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

YELLING AND GOSSIP 

Eph 4:29-32

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

NIV

As we are still looking into some of the unwholesome talk in regard to this list of attitudes and behaviors we are to rid ourselves of, which generate unwholesome language. We need to take a closer look at brawling and slander along with every form of malice. It is interesting how the two Greek words translated as brawling or clamor, and slander bring us more clarity. Kraugee is used here for brawling, which means to cry out, or an outcry, which would show up as angry shouting. This is in contrast to blasfeemia, translated here as slander, but is more directly reproachful speech injurious to another’s good name. Of course, we get the word blasphemy here as well,  which is this injurious speech against the divine majesty, the Lord Almighty. However, what this shows up in the Ephesian Church, and perhaps still exists in the modern church is a loud overheated discussion over whatever, along with this detraction of another’s character, which usually shows up as gossip. Both erupt into a shouting match over an issue, which could be anything in society in general or within the church. We have seen this play out within the leadership of denominations over the years. It shows up as accusations and rebuttals spoken not so much in a yelling match but through the use of both the written word and various forms of social media. They are yelling and brawling without raising their voices. However, at least this brawling is out in the open as this injurious speech shows up as secret communications, such as gossip. This is spoken in a hush, hush manner, in secret, trying to reveal or share some supposed flaw in someone’s character or actions, so that others will see them as despicable as we do, even if none of it is true. The greatest evil about gossip is that nothing has to be true or verifiable, it just has to be spread in a malicious manner. Neither of these evil traits does anything to build up the body of Christ but instead acts to tear down the body of Christ. Let us truly put forth an effort to cleanse our minds and hearts of these traits, looking to see how we can build up each other, putting others before ourselves, and living in humility and love.