Thursday, November 1, 2007

Speaking Evil of Others

A recent comment on our blog commented negatively about my boss, Mr. Doug Phillips, and has been deleted. It is grievous that some people are so uncritical as to believe everything they read online! The way they act reveals the assumption that everything on the internet is true. This is obviously false! We must carefully examine everything we hear or read so that we are not being swindled by perverse gossip and slander into despising and defaming a true man of God. I have worked for Mr. Phillips at Vision Forum for over 6 months and can honestly say that he is an upright man and worthy of respect and honor. He is a dedicated elder of a family-integrated local church and has a precious family and a ministry here in San Antonio which is reaching out to thousands of families and churches across America and abroad, spreading the message of obedience to Christ in every area He commands us, especially as that relates to family life. I am deeply honored to have been a part of this ministry for this short time, and have learned much from Mr. Phillips and the others who share this work. My plea is that we must not simply swallow whatever juicy bit of gossip poison which we may come across, but rather go to the source, the person being spoken about, even as Christ commanded us - "Go to thy brother." I recall reading of a certain preacher who when being told a juicy bit of gossip about another, would say, "Let us go and tell him so." This is sure to stop the gossip right there! "The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell" (James 3:6). Let us be careful how we use it!

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