May God give us grace to be able to silence the slander of fools who speak out against our brothers and sisters in Christ.   I am about to write some very controversial words—so you might want to prepare yourself—or—set this article down or put it in the trash now.  If you have not done that, let’s proceed and talk about the sin of gossip and slander.  For several weeks we’ve been looking at the seven  “I wills” of the godly man in Psalm 101.  This week’s article deals with how the godly man handles slander and gossip.  These things one and the same because gossip spreads information to everyone except the person with whom they have the problem.  They may even be spreading accurate information, but since it is not being used to reconcile with or confront the person involved, it is destructive.  We’ve all be unfortunate enough to watch relationships damaged badly by this kind of thing.  Some of us have even watched entire churches torn apart because people did not go directly to the person with whom they were offended. 

How does the godly man handle slander and gossip?  Psalm 101:5 says this, “Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him will I destroy.”  The word “destroy” here is a little unfortunate in its translation.  What is being destroyed in the Hebrew is the actual slander of gossip.  The word means to silence someone.  Therefore the godly man, when hearing slander of someone or gossip about them silences the speaker from going on about the situation.  

I remember a very godly man who taught me about slander and gossip saying that when he began to hear one brother speak against another—or share an offence, he would listen for a few moments until he could speak.  He did this out of respect for the person speaking to him.  Then he would say something like this, “I know that this hurt you or was offensive, but biblically you should not be sharing this with me.  You should be meeting with him—sharing it with him—and seeking to either reconcile the situation or offer rebuke if he is clearly sinning.”  After saying this he would offer to get the two men together and help them work out their problems.  If the brother would continue to try to tell him more about the offence at that point he would again politely, yet firmly say that he was not the one needing to hear this.  He would reiterate the biblical truth he did before while adding that he did not want to hear any more unless it was in the other party in the offence.  What he was doing was silencing the slander and gossip.  But he was doing much more.  He was offering an opportunity for reconciliation and healing to take place.  He was healing a breach that had happened in the body of Christ—and was grieving the Holy Spirit.  These are the actions of a godly man who has made the commitment, “I will know no evil.”  May God help each of us to be such a man.

For a couple of weeks now we have been looking at Psalm 101 and the godly man.  This week I want to do an overview of this Psalm and bring out a key trait of the godly man.  In Psalm 101 we see a pattern that is important for us if we desire to be godly.  Note throughout the Psalm you see David stating, “I will” over and over again.  He actually makes this statement about 7 different things in this chapter.  I call these 7 things “The Seven I wills of a Godly Man.”  Before we are done with the articles on this Psalm we will look at all 7 of them.  But for this week we need to get the idea of what David is doing here.

A godly man rejects a passive life—and chooses to actively pursue his relationship with God, as well as actively    oppose and renounce evil in his life.  This is an example that we do not need to miss because it highlights something that is not being emphasized in our day.  Men need to reject passivity and accept the role of leadership in their homes and in society. There is no place where this is needed more than in the area of spiritual leadership and development.  If you will note, the seven “I wills” of a godly man have to do with moral and spiritual choices.  Too many men grow up thinking that church, God, and spirituality are the stuff of women—and that their mothers and wives will take care of that area.  But this is wrong and diametrically opposed to what we see in Scripture.

God desires for a man to grow up, lay aside his toys.  Paul describes this in 1 Corinthians 13:11 when he writes the following words, “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.”  Paul wrote this in the context of defining what love really is.  When you read this chapter you realize that love is a choice, not a feeling.  Love is a choice to deny yourself, die to what you want at the time, and live for the benefit of someone else.  The “Seven I Will’s” of a Godly Man” are choices.  They are choices that require men to die to themselves—and die to their passivity about things in life.  They choose instead to pursue a path of godliness, holiness, and love of God first, in their own lives, and then in their family.  In order to do this, many men will have to put down the toys of their youth—and begin to live for God—and then live the life of a servant of God and serve their family.  You cannot do this when you are too busy playing with man-toys like video games, fantasy football teams, and other things that dominate your time.  You will have to “do away with childish things” and give yourself to choosing  to love others.  A great start is to act on every character trait mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13—and apply it in your relationship with your wife, children, co-workers, friends, fellow church-members, and neighbors.

Guys, God has a role and the purpose for us to fulfill.  We live in a time when MEN are needed desperately in our homes, in our churches, and in our society.  Too often we have made our wives and other women fill a role God meant for us to fill.  Let us rise up from in front of the television or the computer—and become the godly men we were meant to be.  Let us be like David and make some rock-hard “I wills” in life—make choices that will make an eternal difference!