The Names of God - El Shaddai

Introduction
Ashten Webb was the children's director of our church until she moved to Huntsville, Alabama when her husband, Matt, got a new job.  Ashten did a great job here and we love her Matt.  They just announced the birth of their fist child on social media.  They named their son Gabriel.  When you see the letters “EL” imbedded in a biblical Hebrew name, it usually means the word god is imbedded in the name's meaning.  Do you see an “EL” in Gabriel’s name?  Gabriel means: "God is my strength".

This summer, we are studying the names of God from the Bible to learn what God is really like.  God is so much more than you may know.  God is infinite, and His character is expansive.  Through this series, I challenge you to expand your understanding of God and consider the many beautiful facets of His character.  Most of all, I invite you to follow God as the fulfillment of your life’s true purpose.

Genesis 17:1-6
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God
Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. 2 I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”

3 At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, 4 “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! 5 What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. 6 I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!

El Shaddai
The passage reveals two names of a famous man that three world religions call father, because he is revered by Jews, Muslims, and Christians.  You may remember, Abraham started life with the name Abram.  God called Abram to leave his homeland in Ur of the Chaldeans (modern day Iraq) and travel to a new land (the Promised Land, Israel), which would be Abram’s new home.  Abram obeyed and was faithful to God all his life.  

Abram lived up to half of his name; Abram means “Exalted Father”.  People looked up to Abram.  He was respected by everyone as a wise and honorable man.  Abram was exalted, but Abram did not have any children of His own and he was 99 years old when God promised to make Abram a father of countless descendants. 

God gave Abram a new name to remind him of God’s promise.  God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, which means “Father of Many.”  Now, how is it possible for a 99-year-old man to start having children?  Well, you might be thinking, maybe Abraham has a young wife?  Nope.   His wife, Sarah, is 90 years old (Genesis 17:17)!  And God promised Abraham would have a son through his 90-year-old wife, Sarah! 

As a father who is 47 years old, I don’t have the parental energy left like I had when I was in my 20s and started having kids.  I can’t imagine having a child in my 90s!  However, what Abraham and Sarah wanted, more than anything, was to have a son to carry on their legacy of faith and God is more than capable to make it happen.  So God reveals one of His many names to show He is perfectly capable of giving them a biological child.

God says, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’” The Hebrew name is El-Shaddai.  You see the letters “EL” imbedded in the name. You already know El means “God”.  God is not a mortal being.  He is immortal.  He is God. The second Hebrew word is Shaddai.  This is most often translated as Almighty, but one word just doesn’t convey the full nature of the meaning.  Shaddai is often thought of as “All-Sufficient.”  If God is Almighty, then He is completely sufficient to turn a 99-year-old man and his 90-year-old wife into parents (and He is All-Sufficient to give them the energy to raise the child).

Shaddai
The Hebrew word Shaddai comes from the root word shad, which means “breast”.  Now, the ancients weren’t talking about chicken breasts. The ancient Hebrews had in mind the life-giving, nourishing breast of a mother sustaining an infant. Have you ever thought about the helplessness of a newborn infant. Sure, it’s cute and all, but how is this thing going to survive? It has no teeth.  It can’t use its hands to feed itself.  It’s completely helpless! 

In the ancient word, they didn’t have baby formula and bottles, but God gives infants a mother.  She holds it to her breast to keep it warm and safe. With her breasts, the mother is able to nourish the child with everything it needs to grow healthy & strong. And this, also, is an image God gave about Who He Is. He said, “I Am El-Shaddai—God Almighty, God All-Sufficient.”

When Jesus came in the New Testament as the perfect embodiment of Divine God on earth, Jesus talked about Himself using imagery that echoed God’s Name to Abraham. What did Jesus say? He said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.” (John 6:35).

Jesus also said he was the Water of Life and once told the woman at the well, “Those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” (John 4:14)

I have personally experienced the Almighty, All-Sufficient power of God throughout my life.  You don’t have time to listen to me list all the ways God has provided a way for me when there was no way.  So I will share only one. 

I got my first full-time job after college when I was a young father in my early twenties.  I was finally earning enough money to take care of my young family.  It was also at that point that I was absolutely sure God was calling me to leave my career and answer a call to full-time ministry as a United Methodist pastor.  

The first step was to go to seminary.  So I called the office of Candler School of Theology at Emory University and asked how much it would cost to attend their seminary.  That lady on the phone said $17,000.  I swallowed hard and ask, "Is that $17,000 per year or for the whole degree?"  She replied, "No. That's $17,000 per semester."  Now, I probably paid less than $10,000 for my entire undergraduate engineering degree and this lady was telling me I'd have to pay $17,000 per semester (and it takes a minimum of 6 semester to graduate from Candler with a Masters in Divinity degree).  What's more, I was gonna have to quit my full-time job to pursue this degree and calling.

I hung up the phone, bowed my head, and prayed, "Lord, there's no way I can afford this.  If You're calling me to be a minister, You're gonna have to make a way, because I can't do it."

Well, I did go to seminary and God was sufficient.  Through grants and scholarships and the generosity and support of people and churches, almost all of my seminary tuition was covered.  I am still paying on student loans, but they are loans from my undergraduate degree.  I have no debt from my seminary degree.  God is good!  He is El Shaddai--God Almighty, God All-sufficient.

Well, my finances might not mean a hill of beans to your life.  What you’re facing right now may make my example look like child’s play.  After 20 years of ministry, I have heard so many stories of the struggles people face.  Maybe you're wondering how are you going to take care your children with special needs.  Maybe you don't know how to take care of your sick spouse or face the cancer or the death of your best friend.  Are you care for your aging parent, wondering how to to face your fear or find forgiveness or let go of shame?  

God is El-Shaddai—He is Almighty, All-Sufficient God.  He can look a 99-year-old childless man in the eye and say, “I’m changing your name to ‘Father of Many’ because I’m promising to give you a son and so many descendants, you won’t be able to count them.”

God is not just talk.  He delivers.  He is El-Shaddai.  God did it for Abraham and God can do it for you.  God is all we really need. He is sufficient. Even if you feel as week and helpless as an infant, God is sufficient for your needs.  He is the source of life and can provide everything you could ever want or need, so much so that you could even leave behind everything you have and follow Him and not lack anything so long as you are following God’s will for your life.

Invitation
In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

If you want to experience the Almighty, All-Sufficient Power of God in your life, you can’t keep following your own selfish path.  You see, God told Abraham, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.”  And Abraham trusted God and followed God’s plan.  And we are still talking about Abraham 4,000 years later.  Three world religions (nearly 4 billion living people today) call Abraham “Father”.

The key is to put your faith in God, through Jesus Christ.  You have to “leave behind” your own self-centered, self-seeking, self-interested plans and follow God’s plan for your life. 
You will never regret it if you do.  But you will regret it for eternity if you don’t.

The Names of God - Elohim

Introduction
I enjoyed a vacation last week--spending time with family and resting and recharging.  My wife and I hiked through “Tate’s Hell” and saw a pigmy rattlesnake!   Tate's Hell State Forest got its name from a farmer named Cebe Tate who in 1875 took a shotgun into the swamp to search for a panther that was killing his livestock. Tate got lost for seven days, was bitten by a snake, and had to drink murky swamp water. Finally, he stumbled into a clearing, living only long enough to murmur the words, "My name is Cebe Tate, and I just came from Hell." There were so many biting flies buzzing around us we could stop to rest or the flies would land on us to bite.

We went fishing and looked up all the names of the different fish we caught.  We caught a lot of Whiting (AKA Gulf Kingfish or Sea Mullet) and Red Fish (AKA Red Drum), which are quite tasty.  I enjoyed watching and learning the names of so many different birds that we don't see wear I live, but are native to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico--Great Blue Heron, Laughing Gulls, Anhingas, and Purple Gallinules.  We visited Wakula Springs and saw Alligators, Manatees, and Suwanee Cooters (a funny name for a turtle!)  We had a great week and I am thankful to have been able to take that vacation. I feel rested and recharged for ministry.

Not long after I came to be the pastor of Pleasant Grove, one of our older members died, Nina Miller.  Nina's family had been close to a former pastor of our church, Renfro Watson, and we invited him to speak at her funeral.  Renfro recounted how Nina loved to grow flowers.  Walking through Nina's garden one day, Renfro said he loved flowers but didn't know any of their names.  Nina replied, “You can’t fully love something until you now its name.”  

The Bible tells the story of how all the animals got their names. And it also reveals some important things about God's name. I want to share that Scripture with you today as I begin a new series for this summer – “The Names of God”.

Genesis 2:18-24
¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” ¹⁹ So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. ²⁰ He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.

²¹ So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. ²² Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.

²³ “At last!” the man exclaimed.

“This one is bone from my bone,
    and flesh from my flesh!
She will be called ‘woman,’
    because she was taken from ‘man.’”

²⁴ This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.

Elohim - God
In our passage, we see that Adam (the first man) names all the animals.  Then, when God makes a woman from Adam’s rib, Adam names her “Woman”.  The word Adam was not originally a proper name.  It simply meant “human being” and the word Eve meant “life” or “life-giver”.  These weren't proper names, just descriptions.

We also see another common name in the passage—God.  In verse 21, the word we translate into English as “God” is Elohim.  Elohim is a plural common noun.  The singular is just “El.”  In the Bible, you will often see names with the word “el” imbedded in them.    For instance Bethel and Daniel.  The “El” in these names almost always means "god". So Bethel means “House of God”.  Daniel means “God is my judge”. 

Elohim is not a proper name like Chris or Kelly.  Just as Adam and Eve originally simply meant man and woman, Elohim was originally a descriptive name for god, similar to other descriptive words like man, woman, alligator, or fish.  So in the Genesis passage, we see all these descriptive names.  And Adam, the man, decides what to call everything. “This is a sunflower, a red-tailed hawk, a manatee.”  And this is a man and this is a woman.  And this is God who made them all.

And there is an interesting thing about the descriptive name for God, Elohim, that gets lost in translation from ancient Hebrew to modern English.  Elohim is plural.  So technically, it should be translated gods (plural), not god (singular).  However, one of the crucial points throughout the Bible is that there is only one God.  And whenever the Bible uses the plural word Elohim, it uses it in a singular sense.  This is a great mystery about God that boggles the simple human mind.  God is One (singular) but He is also many (plural).How can God be both one and many?

The early Church wrestled with the singular/plural nature of God and formulated the doctrine of the Trinity to describe God.  There is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—the Holy Trinity, the Holy 3-in-1.  It’s a mind-boggling doctrine that confuses everyone.  Critics of Christianity like to tease, “So you Christians say there are three gods: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit?”  No.  There is only One God.  However, He is a Three-In-One God.  And nobody understands it fully--not even Christian scholars.  Likewise, we are totally confused when we say, “Jesus is both God and man."  We don't believe Jesus is half-God and half-man.  No.  Jesus is 100% God and also 100% man.  What???  How is that possible?  It’s totally confusing, but it’s the best we can do to use limited human logic and language to describe the unlimited and infinite nature of God.

After sin corrupted the world, the ancients turned from worshipping the One, True God and began inventing all kinds of different gods to worship.  Either they didn't like the One True God or they forgot His true nature and so they invented imaginary gods that had the kinds of attributes they wanted.  They also named their imaginary gods like they named their children and animals.  

Have you ever though the immense power parents possess in the right to name their children? Think about it.  Parents give life to a new himan being and then they decide, "From thence forth, you shall be known as John (or Charles or Susan or whatever...)!"  For the rest of that human being's life, they bear the name their parents gave them.  My little sister was named Katie.  All my life I called her Katie, but when she became an adult, people started calling her Kathryn (which was her full name, Katie was the nickname).  I still call her Katie though.  She will always be my little sister and she will always be Katie to me.

Naming your pets is even more fun than naming children, because you can name them anything.  You don't have to give them regular human names.  You can name your pets: Fluffy, or Bowzer, or even Dumb Dog if you like.  Humans have the power to name their pets.

Parents have the power to name their children, but children don't have the same power to name their parents.  It doesn't work that way.  They can't say, "I don't like your name, Steve; I'm going to call you John."  now sometimes children do give their parents a new name like Daddy or Mom or Pop, but these are not proper names, they are common names--descriptive names that describe the relationship.

But the ancient sinful people who turned away from, rejected, and forgot God, invented new gods that they could name what ever they wanted.  Isn't that a silly idea?  God is God.  He is who He is.  People don’t get to name God or change His name. We don’t get to decided who God is.  But people still try.

Some people today don't like what the Bible says about God and so they think, "I don't like that and I don't believe that.  I would rather God be like this instead."  Others choose instead to reject the very existence of God.  And still, God is who He is.  It doesn't matter whether people like it or believe it.  And if He is who He is and people choose not to accept it, we would call that delusion.  

LORD God - Yahweh
People have always wanted and tried to re-invent God.  That’s why the Bible adds the proper name for God in the passage.  Paired with the common descriptive name “Elohim”, is the proper name LORD—which in Hebrew is Yahweh.  Whenever you see the word LORD in the Holy Bible (and it’s in all-caps), you should know that LORD is the translation of Yahweh (God’s actual proper name).  So we learn that the One True God who created Man and Woman and Alligators and Blue Herons and Red Fish and even Rattlesnakes is The LORD God.

He is Lord.  He is Sovereign.  He is who He is.  He does not change.  We cannot control Him.  We don’t name Him. He names us.  And rather than try to imagine God to be the way we wish Him to be, we should turn to the Holy Bible to see the names or God The LORD God has revealed to us so we can better know The LORD God’s character.  For we are to love God, and (as Nina Miller said), "You can’t really love something unless you know its name" (and what it really is).

Thankfully, the LORD God has always wanted His creatures to know Him.  He has used all His resources to reveal Himself to us.  Romans 1:20 says, “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”  God even spoke to people in the Bible and revealed some of His many names.  We will look at some of these in the course of this series—name like El Shaddai, Jehovah-Jirah, Alpha and Omega, and others.

Jesus, the Best of All Names for God
But as we conclude, I want to share one more of God's names.  It is the best name of all by which we can know God.  It is the name of Jesus—which means, “The Lord Saves”.  You see, though all people sin and fall short of the glory of God leaving us all in jeopardy of punishment in Hell, God doesn’t want us to suffer in Hell for eternity.  Therefore, The LORD God came as the Son, Jesus, to save us.  On the cross, Jesus died for our sins so we can be saved if we repent and put our faith in Him.  Will you?  The choice is yours.

In the sacred ceremony of Holy Communion, we recall the sacrifice Jesus made for us that shows the depths of God's love.   We also remember Jesus rose from the grave and is here with us now to offer new life and eternal life with God forever in Paradise.

Will you repent of your sins and accept the free gift of grace God offers you through Jesus today?  

 

Cursing

Introduction
If you’ve missed any of the messages in this series, I invite you to go to our church website—www.pleasantgrove.cc—and scroll down toward the bottom of the page where you will see links to all our past sermons.  You can listen to them on our podcast or read them on our blog.

Throughout this series, I’ve been telling you that our words matter.  We were made in the image of the God who created the entire universe with words.  God said, “Let there be light.”  And there was light.  “Let there be land and water and plants and animals.”  And there was land and water and plants and animals.”  And God made us in His image—to be like Him.  That means our words are powerful too.

 

But a terrible thing happened.  Humanity turned their backs on God.  We walked away from the One who is the source of life and love and goodness.  We chose our own path—and it has become a path of darkness and death and selfishness and hate.  And so everything in our life has become rotten and corrupt.  Even the good things in our life—like love and joy and pleasure—have soured until they taste like a grape that looks and smells good in your hand but is rotten and sour when your put it in your mouth to chew.

 

And so, the words we speak—which should bring blessings and life—often brings curses and death instead.

James 3:6-12
6 And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.

7 People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. 9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. 10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! 11 Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? 12 Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.

The Powerful But Uncontrollably Tongue

As a kid, I loved to read my older brothers collection of X-Men comic books.  One of the X-Men was a character named Cyclops.  Cyclops shoots a concussive force that looks like lasers from his eyes.  The force is about two Gigawatts of power (or the energy of a large nuclear powerplant). The drawback is, Cyclops can’t control his optic blast.  He must wear special glasses to contain his power vision.  (In the picture, you can see Cyclops touching his visor to release his optic blast against a villain.)  

I saw an X-Men movie once where all the heroes were fighting the villains and one of the bad guys knocked Cyclops' visor off.  His optic blast began spraying out, indiscriminately destroying everything in its path.  Cyclops had to close his eyes to turn it off, but then of course he couldn't see, which was a terrible handicap in the fight.

What do comic book heroes have to do with Christianity?  Well, Cyclops’ uncontrollable optic blast is an image of the uncontrollable human tongue.  Our words are incredibly powerful, but also so hard to control.  Sometimes I feel like the only way I can keep my tongue from destroying is to keep my mouth shut!

 

The Apostle James says people can tame all kinds of animals, but who can tame the tongue?  And it’s true.  People are amazing.  We’ve figured out ways to tame and train horses, lions, tigers, and elephants.  You can even go to Sea World and watch trainers directing Killer Whales. (Now think about that.  They’re not just whales; they’re killer whales! And people have them jumping through hoops and riding on their backs through the water!)

 

But when it comes to the human tongue, people can’t keep their own words under control. 

I was never one to use a lot of foul language while I was growing up.  My mother taught me better. However, when I was in college, I worked the graveyard shift stocking shelves at a grocery store for a time.  There were few customers  in the store during those hours and guys on the stock crew had a habit of using terrible language.  Though I wasn't given to cussin', I found their language was rubbing off on me.  Soon, I was cussin' too.  Even after I left the store, I had developed a habit that took effort to curtail that bad habit.

 

Cussin' is quite common in America in 2021.  Think for a minute what we are doing.  In the south, we call it cussin’ when people use foul language.  Cussin’ is slang for cursing.  What is a curse?  According to the dictionary, a curse is “a solemn utterance intended to invoke a supernatural power to inflict harm or punishment on someone or something.”  Cursing is what witches do, using black magic to invoke evil power to hurt people.

People often think about all the evil and darkness in our world and wonder, "Why is there so much suffering and death? Why do little kids get cancer and die before they've even have a chance to live? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why is our world so screwed up?" When I stop and listen to the careless curses flying freely people’s mouths all day long, I can’t help but think it must have a very negative effect on our world.

Words are powerful.  God created the world with words and we are created in God’s image—patterned after Him.  Our words matter too.  They can create or they can destroy.  So many times we are uttering curses, without even paying attention to the words we say.  I know these negative words have a tangible effect on people’s attitudes.  Offensive words and profanities are strong language designed to pack a verbal punch.  They get people’s attention and put them on edge.  I also wonder how all these curses invite dark spiritual forces into our world and into our lives—even if unintentionally.

We know air pollution and water pollution can have ill effects on our spiritual health.  What about spiritual pollution?  We can't study it with science like we can study other physical forms of pollution, but could polluting the spiritual realm with so many curses have ill effects our our spiritual health?  I can't help think it must.

Meanwhile, prayer and blessings are on the decline.  How many people still pray every day? How many say a blessing before their meal?  And we are so quick to criticize and slow to offer encouragment.  Our words tear down and curse when they ought build up and bless.

 

Jesus Saves
Christians have a saying, “Jesus saves.”  He saves us from sin and death.  John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”  But Jesus saves us for more than just heaven.  Jesus saves us for this life too.  Jesus can change the way you act and even how you speak.  He can make you a blessing instead of a curse.

 

The Xman, Cyclops, wears a visor to control and contain his incredibly powerful optic blast.  Christians welcome Jesus in their heart to tame their uncontrollable behavior and their tongue.

 

Jesus said in Mark 7:20-22, “²⁰ And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. ²¹ For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²² adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.”

 

The human heart is full of disgusting wickedness and from the human heart flows all kinds of filthy behavior and language.  When Jesus comes to live in our heart, he begins cleaning us up from the inside out.  If we will allow him, Jesus will throw out all the evil desires and thoughts.  He will disinfect all the filth that coats the walls of our heart.  It’s a process that takes time—maybe even a whole lifetime.  Eventually, what flows out from our hearts becomes more and more godly—like Jesus.  Since he is living in us, our actions become more Christlike.

 

But we have to cooperate.  Jesus won’t force us to change.  We have to be willing.  We have to take our spiritual medicine and do the spiritual exercise that nurtures the change Jesus brings.

 

Tips to Quite Cussin’
Many of our spiritual habits that need to change are centered around our language. We cannot control our tongues, but Jesus can.

1. Ask Jesus to help you.  We can't fix our own problem, but Jesus can and he wants to .  If you ask Him, Jesus will help you control your tonge.

2. Ask a friend to hold you accountable. There few things more effective in helping change yhour behavior than having a good friend hold you to your commitments.  If you are tryien to clean up your language, tell a friend and ask them to hold you accountable.  Of course, sometimes our friends also use bad language.  Be honest with your friends and tel them you are trying to change the way you speak.  Ask them to honor your choice by refraining from bad language as well.  In doing so , you may bring new life to them as well.  If they refuse to honor your decision, it may be time to change your friends.  Do you really need friends who don't respect your choices or wish to help you grow as a person?  Are they really good friends?

3. Find some replacement words. I know this sounds silly, but say "shoot", "dagnabit", of "frick" instead of those curse words you shouldn't say.  Yes, you’ll sound ridiculous. But better to sound ridiculous than to spray out curses.  And the fact you sound ridiculous may help you with the next tip, because our ultimate goal is to change the whole way we think and speak.

4. Think differently. The goal is for curses to not even come to mind.  There will always be times when you pinch a finger in  a door or stub your toe.  But those don't have to be times when you spew curses.  Wouldn't it be great if a curse didn't even come to mind in those moments.  Ask Jesus to help you change the whole way you think so you're more and more like Him.

 

Conclusion

The ungodly bring curses and death.  But 1 Peter 2:9 reminds us, “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”

 

Christians have the incredible power to bring goodness and light.  We are blessed to be a blessing.  All the families of the earth will be blessed through us.  And God’s Kingdom will come upon the earth.  Therefore, let us surrender control of our hearts and our tongues to the Lord Jesus Christ that He may use them to speak life into our world.

 

Prayer of Confession and Pardon (adapted from the Prayer of Confession UMH 890)

I invite you to use this prayer (or your own) to confess your sins to the Lord and make a commitment to let Him lead you to be more and more like Christ.

Most merciful God, I confess that I have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. I have not loved You with my whole heart; I have not loved my neighbors as myself. I am truly sorry and I humbly repent. For the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on me and forgive me; that I may delight in Your will, and walk in Your ways, to the glory of Your name. Amen

And now, I would like to offer God's pardon with my own prayer for you.

Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.

Gossip

Proverbs 16:27-28
²⁷ Scoundrels create trouble; their words are a destructive blaze.  ²⁸ A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends.

 

Which words do you think are the absolute worst? A lot of church people would argue “damn” is a bad word and GD is the absolute worst (even though both are in the Bible).  Using God’s name to damn someone or something is strong language.  Others might say the F-word is the absolute worst—and for many years it was banned from TV and movies even though Ret Butler could tell Scarlett O’Hara in 1939 “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” in the major motion picture “Gone with the Wind”.  However, if you polled the nation as a whole in 2021, you would likely find the absolute worst words you can use are racial slurs.  GD and F-bombs are dropped all the time—even on television—but saying the N-word will get you fired or even ruin your career. 

100 years ago, wrong or right, the N-word was used freely and openly by people of all colors in social settings.  Even US presidents like Woodrow Wilson, Lindon B Johnson, Harry Truman, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt unashamedly used the N-word.  It just wasn’t considered a bad word 60 years ago.[i]  Things are different today.  Celebrities like Paul Dean have had their careers disrupted or ruined because of the N-word.  Even Madonna—who made a career of scandalous, unapologetically provocative behavior—had to issue an apology a few years ago for using the N-word. 

In the 1600s, the foulest words you could use were swear words associated with God’s name.  Swearing by "God’s bones" or "God’s blood" was considered extremely taboo and not to be used in polite company.  Such foul language was fit only for sailors and pirates.  (Incidentally, the term “bloody” in the UK, as in “You bloody bastard!” may have descended from the swear “By God’s blood!” which eventually shortened to “bloody” and is still considered quite offensive in the England.)

One term we use today to “pretty up” our cussin’ is the word “darn”.  Where did the word darn come from?  Do we say it just because it sounds sort of like damn?  Darn actually evolved down through the centuries from a phrase used in 16^th century swearing, “Eternal damnation”. “Eternal damnation” got shortened to “tarnation” (used by miners and cowboys out west: “Tarnation, these misquitos are eating me alive!”).  Then, “tarnation” was shortened again to just “tarn” and then that became “darn”.  What started out as one of the most offensive things you could say in the 16^th century has now become a rather inert word that might be used by Ned Flanders sort of folk.  Can you imagine Ret Butler telling Scarlett O’Hara, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a darn.”  It just doesn't have the same punch.

Putting Pearl Earrings in a Pigs Ear
We like to pretty up our words to make them more palatable.  For instance, we don’t eat pig; we eat pork.  Pig is English; pork comes from French and Latin.  I guess pork taste better to us than pig.  The same rule applies for hamburgers.  We don’t eat cow; we eat beef because beef was originally the French/Latin word and so “100% all beef patty” sounds more appetizing than “100% all cow patty”.  I guess if you give food a fancy name, it’s easier to swallow.  Snails become escargot. Squid becomes calamari.  It’s the same animal, but if you give it a French name on the menu, people will pay top dollar for it.  If you call it by the English animal name, it's fish bait.

And that brings me to another form of foul language people try to pretty up—gossip.

Gossip is one of the vilest forms of speech that comes from human lips, but—ironically—it is the one that’s most common and accepted in polite society.  If you come into a church dropping F-bombs and GD, even the most accommodating congregation will soon escort you out the door.  However, gossip is often runs wild in churches.  This despite the extensive prohibitions against gossip throughout the Bible.

Leviticus 19:16 - Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.

Proverbs 11:13 - A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence.

Proverbs 16:28 - A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends.

Proverbs 17:4 - Wrongdoers eagerly listen to gossip; liars pay close attention to slander.

Proverbs 20:19 - A gossip goes around telling secrets, so don’t hang around with chatterers.

Proverbs 25:23 - As surely as a north wind brings rain, so a gossiping tongue causes anger!

Proverbs 26:20 - Fire goes out without wood, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops.

I could go on, but it would take too long.

Just based off the number of times the Bible speaks negatively about gossip, you would think Christians would be far more concerned about gossip than cuss words.  I think Jesus and the apostles would be.

In Romans, the Apostle what Paul listed gossip right alongside some of the most despicable sins.

Romans 1:29-31
²⁹ Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. ³⁰ They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents.

Notice, Paul lists gossip among such despicable sins as murder and hating God.  Wow! 

You need to understand, destructive, sinful, disgusting language is not limited to so called “foul language”.  When people gossip, they are speaking in ways repugnant to God—even if they use polite acceptable words. Gossip is hurtful and offensive and God hates it.

Definition of Gossip
The dictionary definition of gossip is “casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true.”  That’s the technical definition, but gossip is sneaky language that easily disguises itself in our conversations.  If we don’t clearly understand the nature of gossip, we may engage in gossip without even knowing we are doing so.  Also understand that not everything people label as gossip is gossip. Sometimes, people are just ashamed and if you say anything about their shameful conduct, they will accuse you of gossip.  Sometimes we do need to talk about each other's business; that's part of what living together in authentic community means. 

It's important to now what is and what isn't gossip. So, here are seven questions that may help you decide if it's gossip.

Is it Gossip?
1. How Certain am I that the information is factually correct?
If it's not true or only partially true and you are spreading it, you are a gossip.  Don't do it.  Sometimes, however, we don't intend to gossip.  Maybe we're

not sure if something is true and we're talking to people because we're trying to find out.  We may even say something like, "I'm not sure if this is true, but I heard..." Maybe we are hoping to get more information, but that's not usually the way it plays out.  The person we ask that question may begin spreading the information as truth.  The next thing you know, everyone's accepted your initial question as a fact.  If you are trying to find if the gossip you heard is true, then go to the source--the person the gossip is about.  They will set you straight.  Otherwise, it may be best to keep your mouth shut.

2. Was the info given in confidence?
If someone shared something with you in confidence (or assumed confidence), then it's a terrible form of gossip to share that with others. Deep meaningful relationships are only possible if people know they can trust you to keep a confidence. Sometimes people need to share something with you and ask for help or maybe even just vent. They need to trust you won't turn around and share that with others. One reason gossip is so evil is it erodes our ability to have deep, meaningful relationships with other people. We end up angry, hurt, and isolated and the whole community it damaged.

3. Is this important enough to share?
Not everything you hear si important enough to share.  Just because something is interesting, fascinating, or juicy doesn't make it important.  Is someone's life or spiritual/emotional/physical health at jeopardy if you remain silent?  Is it truly important or are you just wanting the enjoyment of talking about this situation?  Be honest.

4. Am I telling the story to build others up in Christ? 
Sometimes we do need to talk about each others business when it means building each other up in Christ. In the Church, your business is my business if it is about growing in Christ.  But gossip is not about building each other up in Christ.  Gossip is about derive our entertainment at the expense of someone else's situation and it's distrusting.  I can often tell when someone is about to share gossp with me; they get a certain gleam in their eye.  I don't like to gossip, but I love to eat a good steak.  I get a gleam in my eye when I'm about to eat a juicy ribeye.  When someone who loves gossip is about to share it, you can almost see the same gleam in their eye.  They've got something juicy to tell and they can't wait to devour it.  It's disgusting.  Most church people would agree pornography is distrusting.  I want everyone to understand that gossip is just as distgusting.

5. Am I telling this story to protect others in Christ?
As I said before, it's not necessarily gossip if keeping quiet could truly hurt someone.  However, we need to be honest in answering this question.  Are we truly trying to protect someone or are we making an excuse to give us the opportunity to have the pleasure of talking about someone else's business?

6. What is my motive for telling this particular person about it?

Although we sometimes need to talk to about each others business, we don't necessarily need to talk to everyone about each others business.  Why do you want to tell this particular person about this situation?  Are they the right person to talk to?  Do they really need to know?  Be very careful who you bring into the conversation.  Be clear when you are speaking in confidence and expect people to keep your confidence.

7. Have I prayed about it?
Ask God whether you should talk or remain silent.  Consider: if Jesus were sitting in the room with you during the conversation, would he be pleased with what you're saying?  The fact is, Jesus is there.  He is not pleased when we gossip.

If you are prone to gossip, everyone you talk to likely knows you will talk the same way about them when they're not around. You don't want to be known as a gossip. People want to feel like you have their back, not that you're always talking behind their back.

Conclusion
Gossip is poison—even though it taste sweet. It destroys the person who shares it, harms people who hear it, and hurts people about whom we gossip. Gossip is a deadly evil.

If you are more concerned about “cussing” in the world outside the church than you are about gossip in the church, then you need to check yourself. You need to pray to the Lord for forgiveness for the times you engage in the evil of gossip. You need to repent and make a commitment to clean up your foul language or else you may be in danger of eternal damnation.

How we use words matters. Our words can either build up and bring life or tear down and bring death. Let us pray our words bring life instead of death.

Father, forgive us for using foul language, especially when disgusting gossip was disguised as pretty words.  Help us to be honest, faithful, gracious, and loving when we talk to and about one another.  Help our most important motive be love and to build one another up in Christ.  Father, You created the whole universe with words; You spoke and it was.  You made us in Your image and gave us powerful words to speak.  Forgive us for deforming Your image by speaking words that bring darkness and death.  Fill us with Your Holy Spirit that we may speak words of light and life from this day forward. Amen.

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[i] https://chicago.suntimes.com/2016/8/30/18420888/5-white-u-s-presidents-who-used-the-n-word