Are Your "Concerns" Getting You Off Center?

I have wrestled over the years with how I talk about fellow Christians.  We are commanded not to gossip. That’s plain enough.  Yet, I do find myself in conversations where a particular Christian comes up “with a concern about a fellow Christian.” It can be horribly tempting to weigh in on decisions that they have made, or on actions they have taken.

What do we do with it when we are offered such opportunities from others?  What guidance can we find from scripture?  We know we must not gossip, which is, in a technical sense, a command of negation: “Don’t do this.” Yet we tend to find ourselves justifying our speaking against fellow Christians, by saying “I am sharing a concern, and therefore its not really gossip.”  In our mind then, it is not gossip….

Commence eye rolls.  

But are there more things we can see in scripture that can grant us clarity and close what we perceive are loopholes?

1 Thessalonians 5:14 has some good advice.  “Be patient with everyone.”  That’s a good place to start.  We are all at different places on our journey toward Christ likeness.  Give people a chance to grow in their understanding, and let God train them in their life and choices.  You may find yourself wishing at some point where you struggle for others to be patient with you, right?  Let’s hope that we have shown graceful patience toward others as they grow, that they may show grace to us when we need it most!

Here is another from 2 Thessalonians 3: “We hear that some among you are idle.  They are not busy; they are busybodies (NIV).”  Busybodies.  Hmm.  The Greek word is periergazomai.  Literally it means, “to work around the edge.” Another translation for this word is “Meddlers.”  Isn’t that a great picture?  Instead of doing what they are supposed to be doing, they are off to the side taking shots at others! Busybodies and Meddlers.  Instead of being where the work is, their energy is spent “off center.”  When we decide we are going to talk about others, are we being a busybody?  Are we meddling in things that are not our business? Isn’t that really being “off center” and not where Christ wants us to be?

A person said recently, “When something happens that’s really none of my business, and I didn’t get asked about it beforehand, then I need to understand that I won’t be held accountable for that.”  In other words, he was saying first, “Its none of my business,” and second, “I will just leave that alone.”  That keeps you from meddling, for sure!  Do we, as Christians, really have to have an opinion on everything?

In the end, being patient with others, restraining a critical spirit, and avoiding meddling really are simply applying the law of love, which for us has two parts: “Love your neighbor as your love yourself;” “Love one another as I have loved you.”  Doesn't it say some where in scripture that "Love builds up?"  And doesn't it say that "Love keeps no records of wrongs?  Aren't we all called to love our fellow man and to do good to all, ESPECIALLY the household of believers.  Let us all try to lead by example in this area and speak well of each other.