Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord,my strength and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14
When you think of the people that disgust you, do you ever find yourself calling them names like “Idiot,” “Stupid,” etc.? The Lord has convicted me of such talk. He has shown me how much He loves everyone. That He always hopes the very best for them, and that each of them will find the joy of walking with Him.
Moses at the Second Rock
To get an idea of the importance God attaches to our characterizations of fellow human beings – look at what happened to Moses at the second rock in the wilderness. In all fairness, I don’t know how Moses did it, dealing with those complaining people all those years. This day, he had enough!
“Hear now, you rebels, Will we bring out water from this rock for you? And Moses lifted up his hand, and he struck the rock twice with his rod and plenty of water came out, and the assembly drank, and their livestock.” Numbers 20:10b-11
But Moses had been given specific instructions to “take the rod and speak to the rock before their eyes.” Not only did Moses call the people a bad name, but he disrespected God, which cost him entrance into the promised land.
I may feel anger or disgust toward someone for actions or words but I am commanded to love. Love is an act of the will! Our words are powerful influences in our own spirits as well as on those around us.
Jesus said, “…Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.” Matthew 5:22c In the same verse, He warned about calling people “Raca,” which means empty, good for nothing, worthless. It simply is not our place to condemn our fellow human beings. God takes this seriously, and so should we.
Speaking Ill of the devil
As a final note, it has mystified many believers that God would forbid slander against the devil.. Why shouldn’t we speak ill of him, when he is the father of lies who steals, kills, and destroys! I recall the great world evangelist, T. L. Osborn, saying on many occasion, “Poor devil.” Pondering that led me to this – the devil, though fallen, is God’s created being.
Jude, the half brother of Jesus, gives us a glimpse of God’s perspective on the matter.
"Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you!' Jude 9
And later in verse 21 Jude says, “Keep yourselves in the love of God…”
We have authority over the devil and his demons and can command them to come out, but we do not revile them. There is a difference.
Without God’s love in every circumstance we cannot hope to accomplish His will in our lives.
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