Everyone knows we shouldn't gossip. That we should mind our own business..
The bible, many times, warns about the power of speech. Believers are to use this power wisely. We are not to grumble or complain (ex. James 5:9), nor should we ever speak falsely (ex. Ex. 20:19), we are not to swear oaths (ex. Matt. 5:37). Speech has power. It is the audible expression of the inner contents of one's mind. Jesus warns that what lies at the heart of unregenerate folks is evil, and that to broadcast that evil is sin. Sanctification, our calling in life, is marked by a taming of the tongue.
In a culture concerned very much with privacy, many often eagerly hop on this train, warning about the kind of speech about others that they might not like. Gossiping is, broadly and basically, the practice of speaking about others while they are not present. Being a busybody is, broadly and basically, speaking about people and issues that are none of their business. And these things are self-evidently often immature, unhelpful, harmful, and wasteful.
Even so, it is easy to be governed more by worldly principles with regard to speech than to conform to scriptural notions of it. Did Jesus sin? Scripture is clear that he did not (Heb. 4:15). Okay, so they why did he insult Herod by calling him "that fox" when messengers came to report about him (Luke 13:32)? Or why did he talk about Lazarus' health conditions with his own apostles (John 11:11)? Didn't he know this was the family's business to report? Didn't he know this was a HIPPA violation??? Why did he speak broadly about the sins of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians?
It isn't as though these things were exceptional to Christ. Peter reported the work of the Holy Spirit in the family of Cornelius to those assembled in Jerusalem. Paul invited the Roman authorities into his conflict with the religious establishment of Jerusalem. In his letters, he often speaks about intimate details of other people's lives, who is living in sin, who is fighting within the church. Modern notions of propriety easily convict the first generations of Christians of great sin.
Today, the annual conference released the Pre-Conference Workbook, which spells out the agenda and work of next month's annual conference. The purpose of this conference will be to vote on whether or not the collective body of the Oklahoma Annual Conference will allow the disaffiliations of 55 local churches, of which Nowata and Delaware will be a part. The conference's Board of Trustees is making the report on the disaffiliations. It is widely feared that the Trustees will recommend that the Conference use a different voting method than last time, scrutinizing individual churches that fell below a 90% or 80% threshold to disaffiliate, although the disciplinary provisions stipulate only 66.7%. When 15 of the churches listed were not yet recommended for disaffiliation, members and leaders of these churches started anxiously calling around and posting online, worrying that the Conference Board of Trustees was simply refusing to let them leave. I started getting emails and texts.
Because I spoke on the phone with Tish Malloy earlier this week, I knew that her committee simply has been unable to track all of the exhibits given by the disaffiliating churches. They are still confirming what is present and what is still lacking. Rather than give every church the impression that everything was perfect, they are preparing several weeks in advance, before the last days, before it is too late. They are giving these churches a chance to send final materials before it is too late. They will meet again a couple days before conference session, on April 22, to give a final report on what churches have completed all the steps. The problem today was that they had not communicated with the 15 churches who were lacking in their reports. So instead of calling the conference office, many simply called one another.
What lessons can be learned? I would readily reprimand people who called other people who don't know anything to spread anxiety and rumor. But I'd also note that, because I had called the source and asked some uncomfortable questions a month or so ago, I knew some things that others didn't. I was able to be a peacemaker in the midst of the storm. I was able to protect others from character assassination because I knew things they didn't.
I don't think it is right to let others speak for themselves. In fact, scripture strongly indicates that we shouldn't defend ourselves from accusation (Jude 9). So we have to defend one another. That means we have to talk about people when they aren't around. We have to share, not just accolades, but concerns. What matters is not that we avoid speaking about things that have little to do with us. Rather, it is the WAY we speak about these things that matters.
I must inquire of myself: Am I asking these questions and talking about these things just to hear myself talk and interlope, or am I seeking to be a source of blessing and peace in the lives of others? Faith seeks understanding. Understanding comes from processing information well. With Christ as our guide, we are morally obligated to do so. Let's resolve to talk capably and conscientiously about others, using the Golden Rule as our guide, and aiming to glorify God in all that we think, do, and SAY!
Excellent assertion. More grace.