Communication
Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 2 So they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it. Numbers 12:1-2
Prejudice is a prejudgement; a narrow minded view, a stance, position, conclusion or decision reached without the full facts. It leads to criticism. A critical tongue misrepresents and destroys.
Aaron and Miriam in the scripture above, ganged up against Moses. They were touching the Lord’s anointed. The word of God says, ‘Touch not my anointed. Do my prophets no harm.’ It was not their business to meddle in Moses’ family affairs. They did not suffer with him in his forty years wilderness experience. If they were in his shoes they would have probably done the same thing. We must watch ourselves to avoid roots of bitterness springing up among us against fellow believers. These are like the little foxes that spoil the vine. They are like cancer that gradually eats up the whole body unless a drastic action is taken.
We must not prejudge. We must mind our own business otherwise we would do damage to ourselves and the Body of Christ. We must avoid cliques in the Church or ganging up against anyone, especially the leadership God has ordained to look after His sheep.
Aaron and Miriam by their action courted the displeasure of God and were punished for it.
A critical tongue causes disunity, acrimony and disharmony and stops the blessing of God.
3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. James3:3-12,21
The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit. Prov 18:21
The seven deadly sins include sowing of discord among brethren.
16 There are six things the LORD hates,
seven that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies
and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
Prov.6:16-19
6Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.Col.4:6
But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Col3:8
29Do 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.
Eph. 4:29
1 How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron's beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.
3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore. Ps133:1-3
But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another Gal.5:15
We should rather promote unity as to see the blessing of God..
Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Eph.4:3
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Acts 2:46
And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. -5:12
David was wise not to touch Saul even when God delivered him into David’s hands. ‘I will not touch the Lord’s anointed’, he said.
We must pray for our leaders if we think they are wrong and let God deal with them.
You may be on the receiving end because you are a leader. You may hear people criticizing you. Be wise not to answer back by being defensive or returning fire for fire. That puts you at the same level with them. You must rise above it. Seek the Lord’s face to give you wisdom as to what to do. If it is in your congregation, you must know how to address the situation to avoid a cancer spreading through the Body and yet not taking it personal. You must identify the root of the problem and not just treat the symptoms. That will be window dressing, palliative and leaving behind a time bomb that will explode one day.
When there is goodwill, love, compassion, common purpose, co-operation and harmony, showers of blessing come from above, miracles happen, captives are set free and God is glorified.
©Fenny West
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blesses your writing as you
reap what you have sown! It is
only through obedience and
seeking the LORDS face which
you clearly are DOING, for HIM
to have opened up your
understanding on these
"critical" matters, surely
much more shall be given you!
You have let the Holy spirit
shine through, and how
glorious it is to see and
hear children of God walking
in spirit and His truth!
I will have to visit your
website, for I know that the
LORD is using you mightly. We
are blessed to be partaking
IN the first resurrection!
Bless you in Christ Jesus
Holy name! ManofGod