Gospel Girl- Written by:
Rachel Shaw
"You can always tell who the strong women are. They are the ones you see building one another up instead of tearing each other down."
This quote hit me in the face like a ton of bricks. For weeks I have meditating on these words and evaluating my intent within in my conversations. Are they meaningful? Are they uplifting? Are my words hurtful? Am I benefiting and contributing to the Kingdom of Heaven?
Gossip. (noun)
1. Casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true.
Admit it. We all have struggled with gossip at one point in our lives.
One of women's greatest traits is that we are highly verbal. This is such a God given gift to all of humanity. (Yes...even a gift to the men). It is natural for us women to have the desire to verbalize our emotions to our loved ones. We were created to share our thoughts and feelings to have intimate communication and closeness between friendships and sisterhood. What a blessing!
I know that I can sit at a Tim Horton’s for hours on end with no agenda...just simply talking about whatever comes to mind. This is a great thing but it can become extremely dangerous.
Sometimes we can take our blessing of being highly verbal and use it to tear our sisters down. How devastating this must be for God. Think about it. We use our tongue that literally has the ability to speak life into another sister, and we choose to tear her down instead. For me, it is so tempting to gossip about my fellow sisters because of the temporary increase in my own self-worth. It is common for women to talk about each other to feel better about themselves and their own life situations.
I have been caught in countless arguments that involved megossiping about a friend that has backfired on me. High school was a time where I lived for gossip. What a thrill it brought to my clique of friends as we learned about one another’s deepest, darkest secrets behind each other’s backs that were not even true. I had hoped that once I got out of high school, I would be free from the world of drama but then I started college and entered the workplace. The temptations followed me out of high school and into the next stage of life. Maybe the problem wasn't that specific clique in school... maybe it was me.
Jesus explains that our tongue is a powerful weapon. In Proverbs 18:21 it states..
"The tongue can bring death or life...."
The words we choose can literally speak life or death into another human. Our tongue is so powerful that we can uplift and encourage our sisters in desperate time of need. Our words have the ability to change someone's life for the better. Our words can build up the army of sisters, to live powerful lives that can defeat the devil.
As women of Christ, we are called to encourage and to love one another in the same way Jesus did. Not once did Jesus find out juicy information (that may not be true) about one of his disciples and run to tell all of the others to build up his self-worth.
I challenge each one of you readers to think before you speak. Ask yourself if what you are about to say is going to build someone up or tear them down. Find your identity and self-worth in Christ and not in other people's opinions of you. Talk to God daily, asking for strength to rise against the temptation to gossip. Pray with one another. Establish meaningful friendships with sisters. Rise up an army of women that live with the power of the Holy God.
About Rachel Shaw:
Hi! I am Rachel. I have a passion for young people and feel called to the mental health field. I am in the Child and Youth Worker program and plan to go further in my education. I am a Day Program Staff at a community agency, working with adults who have mental and physical disabilities. I am married to the world's most-handsome man! I am blessed!
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