Treat others as you want to be treated

What began as a season of political madness has spread throughout our society, and even into many churches. Character assassination has become a staple of our day.

It does not matter if the charges are true or verifiable. The press reports the accusation and a person’s reputation is ruined. The public remains fascinated.

It reminds me of how during the time of Jesus’ ministry, He was accused of several things, such as associating with tax collectors and sinners, and saying that He healed by the power of Satan instead of admitting that He was from God.

He was even accused of blasphemy. The accusations were done in an attempt to discredit Him and His ministry.

Later as Christianity spread, a rumor also spread that Christians were drinking real blood and practicing cannibalism at the Lord’s Supper.

Of course, those spreading the rumor never bothered to verify what really happened. People assumed it to be true because it was also reported in the news reports of the day.

How similar this is to gossip and rumors spread in a small town. Never mind that the story has not been verified. Gossip and rumors take on a life of their own, and we assume that since they could be true, that they are true.

The end result is always the same… hard feelings, ruined reputations, perhaps even broken friendships.

Often times these rumors and accusations are made on the flimsiest of evidence.

One person says something innocently, and another person misunderstands what was being said, and soon the matter is blown all out of proportion to what the person originally meant.

Sadly, people often use these rumors to achieve their own agendas, sometimes even in churches. Recently I heard a rumor about a person in town and decided to ask the person directly what was going on. The rumor was proven to be absolutely false.

The unfortunate thing is you had a person claiming to be religious who never even contacted the person whom they were spreading rumors about. The Bible is clear that we should first go to that person instead of spreading falsehoods.

The first step in stopping a gossiper is not to listen to them. Let them know you consider the discussion to be gossip. Ask them if they checked out their story with the person they are talking about; odds are the answer is no.

Even if we hear a story from a friend, we should seek to verify the truth of the matter, and not become a part of the problem.

Jesus said in Matthew 22:39, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

This means treating your neighbor the way you yourself would like to be treated.

One needs to ask oneself; does spreading gossip, which is a form of character assassination whether public or private, really promote what Jesus commanded us to do?