GROWING BY GOSSIP

GROWING BY GOSSIP

   Proverbs [GW] 1:1-7 The proverbs of Solomon, David's son who was king of Israel, given to grasp wisdom and discipline, to understand deep thoughts, to acquire the discipline of wise behavior- righteousness and justice and fairness- to give insight to gullible people, to give knowledge and foresight to the young- a wise person will listen and continue to learn, and an understanding person will gain direction-to understand a proverb and a clever saying, the words of wise people and their riddles. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. Stubborn fools despise wisdom and discipline.

   Luke [GW] 16:8-12 "The master praised the dishonest manager for being so clever. Worldly people are more clever than spiritually-minded people when it comes to dealing with others." Jesus continued, "I'm telling you that although wealth is often used in dishonest ways, you should use it to make friends for yourselves. When life is over, you will be welcomed into an eternal home. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with a lot. Whoever is dishonest with very little is dishonest with a lot. Therefore, if you can't be trusted with wealth that is often used dishonestly, who will trust you with wealth that is real? If you can't be trusted with someone else's wealth, who will give you your own?

   2Corinthians 13:5-6 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.

  My life training includes “Never just simply dismiss some things circulating as gossip.” Which of course flies in the face of standard that gossip is totally bad, period, and should be immediately firmly discounted. The mining and refining process I was taught:

1.       Do not merely dismiss it. Hear it.

2.       Investigate whether it has foundation or bits of truth.

3.       Trace it back to the initiator.

4.       Courteously hear them.

5.       If it has foundation or bits of truth, accept those.

6.       Is there a remedial solution?

7.       If so, am I/are we willing to confer on and attempt to implement the remedy? (This step may require further maturity-in-faith personal examination.)

8.       If willing, lovingly implement regardless of angst about self or party reaction.

  All wealth is not monetary. Biblical maturity is great wealth to invest now for eternity. Let us emulate God’s grace in constructively doing so.

EBB4   Monday, March 26, 2018

PS. Whereas I was preached to that all gossip should be sent to the trash heap, clever worldly leaders showed me not to be so narrowly simple-minded.