So there are a few things in my life I have always struggled with. This is one of them. It's not like I sit around looking to hear information or look to share information but a good majority of my conversations end with me wondering if I should have been a part of the conversation. I am the kind of female that feels a need to talk out things that are frustrating me and that can almost always end in me sharing information that I only shared because I was mad about something.
So why am I talking about all this? Well in the small groups lesson I taught this past Sunday night this is what we talked about, Gossip that is. They had this "Checklist" in the book that gave you questions to ask yourself to decide if what you were about to say would qualify as Gossip. SO... all day today I kept trying to keep my mouth shut. Sometimes I succeeded and sometimes I failed miserably. But even when I succeeded I was still going nuts in my head pitching a fit about this person or that. This just leads me to another dilemma. You see, Scripture says that if we think something it is just as bad as doing it. Now how am I supposed to handle all these frustrations with people that are running around in my head? I can't share it with others because it becomes Gossip but if I am thinking in my head about how ridiculous, or irritating someone or something is that is just as bad as saying it. So how do I handle this? Thoughts?
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3 comments:
I thought "thoughts" were the problem... not the solution. :)
Um, how to handle it... quit thinking?
Maybe not... how about, "Take every thought captive." Yeah, probably a little cliche... but you get the idea. Maybe.
I'll share what I think to be the correct answer, but not necessarily what I practice (I know - bad Christy!). Tony already shared the verse to "take every thought captive", but what do we do with that thought once we realize we shouldn't have had it to begin with? Change it into a prayer for that person. Christ said to love our enemies and to pray for them as well. I know you probably don't consider the people who frustrate and aggravate you as your "enemies", but you know what I mean. So, once we have a negative thought towards someone, we should then capture it and turn it into a prayer. "Lord, so and so is really frustrating me. If they are having a bad day and just came across the wrong way, then I pray you will help them to trust in you in whatever circumstance they are in. I pray the same for myself, Lord, because I shouldn't let these things bother me". That's just a simple example. Like I said, I don't always practice this myself, so there you go. I know this is something you already knew anyway, but it's all I had to offer.
Good questions. Though we see that "if you think it, it's just as bad as saying it", by keeping it from going from tongue to other people, you are building a protection for other people around. It's like firefighters containing a wildfire. It may still do some damage within the confines, but it will protect those around. This will also help give the Lord time to work on the confined fire. Just my thoughts.
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