Be Glad

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Matthew 5:11,12

I really needed to read this. Really. I've been in a bit of a tizzy, and actually, quite angry until I read this verse. I learned recently that I was the subject of a conversation...a rather insulting conversation in my opinion, and it made me angry. It made me angry for a couple of reasons. One being that it was gossip-taking place in a setting where gossip shouldn't have been. Our small group took ourselves to task a few years ago for being gossipy, and it's amazing the change we've made. We've all eschewed the gossip- focusing on each other and people's needs instead. And I guess when you eliminate something like gossip from yourself, you find it more disturbing when other people do it. I know when I am involved in a conversation that turns to gossip, I either stop the conversation, or I walk away, simple as that.

But this was a conversation about me, and I wasn't even around... that just really bothered me. And what was being said was untrue... it's been a long, long time since high school, that's for sure, so I'm not even sure why I let it bother me so much, but I did. And this verse this morning is like a soothing balm to me. Truly. What was being said about me was something that was a direct result of me obeying God's direction, and, well, I just need to stop letting it bother me. Blessed am I for what others falsely say about me because of God. So really, I should be thanking the people doing the talking, because I am blessed despite their evil intentions.

This was a verse I clung to as a Christian high schooler in an unsaved world. Who knew that going through being a "Jesus Freak" in high school would serve me well in the real adult world. I'm thirty years old, and I needed to be reminded to hold my head high and continue in my service to the Lord. And I have to say, I feel much, much better about all this. In short time, I will have forgotten it, choosing to take the high road and forgive the people who did the talking they shouldn't have done. That is far preferable to dwelling on it and letting it fester even further.

It's also a good reminder to me why I choose not to gossip, you never know who you might hurt.

"Their tongue is an arrow shot out;
It speaks deceit;
One speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth,
But in his heart he lies in wait." Jeremiah 9:8

"Whoever hides hatred has lying lips,
And whoever spreads slander is a fool." Proverbs 10:18

"The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor,
But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered." Proverbs 11:9