I do not take the credit for this one but I do believe in all the truths that is shares....
Saturday, July 26, 2008
"If I had a dollar for every time I heard the words, "Did you hear?" or "You wouldn't believe this." You are 110% right, I DON'T BELIEVE IT. I've grown to really learn some things about life, and I am going to openly share them with you. First, the majority of things we hear and listen to aren't really true. In fact, take it from a man who has traveled the world over the last 10 years and has "heard" many things about people. I used to love the juice, and welcome it; I was the king of being in on the "know" and being the man my friends would call and jokingly say, "Maddix, fill me in on the latest." Well, I'd like to fill you in on the latest and let you know that rumors, gossip, and false accusations are childish, painful, inconsiderate, and plain destructive. There is much in the Bible about our tongues and what our responsibility is when it comes to rumors and gossip. Our job is to keep our mouths shut and not spread the fire or add wood to the fire. It's amazing to me that the people who are always talking and slamming others are the ones who are doing absolutely nothing with their lives. Rather than them stepping up to the plate and actually getting a life, they choose to just get on the phone or Internet and talk about stuff they know nothing about. It's ridiculous the amount of people that have had their reputations destroyed because of a gossiper who didn't tell the "FULL" story or even know the full story. Ladies and gentlemen, life is way too short to waste it on meaningless gossip and spreading rumors.I've actually grown up a lot over the past few years and have come to the understanding of what Jesus said, "Woman, where are your accusers?" The poor lady was about to be stoned to death. We in the church are awesome at stoning people that have fallen into sin, and condemning people to hell for being human. I really like what Jesus said, "He that is without sin, let him cast the first stone!" I put away my stones about a year ago; I stopped talking bad about others and listening to junk about others. Friends, I've traveled and heard thousands of rumors or the "inside scoop" on so and so and am quite disgusted with all of it. I'm so ready to just have a decent conversation with someone and talk about ideas, plans, dreams, and success rather than waste away at my energy and passion by talking about things that I don't have a clue about 99% of the time and don't even know if the junk is true. It's a shame that we can't just realize that we all have made mistakes, we've all failed, we all have a past, and we all have sinned against God at one time or another in our lives.I've had the privilege of meeting some pretty powerful men of God in my life, and what encourages me more than anything else on earth is not their power, gifts, talent, or anointing, but rather their humanity. I've grown to respect men and women, because they are human, honest, and transparent; it's not because they are perfect and without failure. Guys, let's be raw and honest. Who hasn't messed up, made a bad choice, call or decision? Who hasn't done things that they were ashamed of or regretted? Give me a perfect man who is always attacking others and judging others, and I'll give you a man who is heading for a fall. Friends, I know "dirt" and "the inside" about a lot of people but simply erased it from my mind and was determined to never bring a man or lady down. God is a whole lot bigger than you or I, and if God wants to expose somebody and wipe them out, then he can do more in 1 hour than I can in a lifetime. I've learned to just pray for others and disregard all the rumors and gossip. It's simply not fair. Most of the time, God really wants to give someone mercy and help them get back to grace, and stand again. My goodness, we are so ready to pick up the phone and destroy somebody. I've always learned, "There are two sides to every story, and if I didn't hear, see, or know all, then I just should turn it over to God." God will take care of the situation or person. It's not fair to destroy reputation or gossip about stuff just because you "heard it." I've always asked people, "Do you know this for a fact, or is this something that you "heard"?" Sadly, 99% of the time they will say, "Well, I don't know, but it's what I heard!" Great, go flush it down the toilet, and go do something with your life, rather than get involved with a bunch of junk and gossip.I've protected many preachers, because all it takes is one devil or one jealous person, and they could wipe them out, when God doesn't want them wiped out in the first place. Most people are clueless and ignorant about what to do. My favorite book in the world was written by Andy Stanley and it's called, "The Greatest Question in the World!" The greatest question in the word is, "What's the WISE thing to do?" The wise thing to do is to be a merciful person, and turn every rumor and gossip over to God. Why? God will take care of everything, and we always reap what we sow. You will learn through life that the majority of stuff that you heard was intended to stop with you, because it's a lie or a false accusation.Somebody told me just the other day, "I heard a rumor about you…" I said, "I don't even want to know what it is." They said, "What? Don't you want to know what people are saying about you?" No, because my life is intended on being a great dad to my son, a great pastor to my church, to reach over 7 billion people, and fulfill my life's mission. I know who I am and I know where I've gone and what I've done with my life. The things I "may have done", I've taken care of with God and my pastor. The things that I have not, believe you me, God is big enough and God enough to handle me and deal with me. Therefore, I choose not to listen to the negative press or reports. I know God, my family, my church, and my friends love me and don't believe the junk. Ladies and gentlemen, we could save ourselves a ton of energy and negativity by simply choosing not to listen to all the junk, lies, gossip, and rumors of others. We would save ourselves a lot of time and energy if we stopped worrying about the "rumor mill" and "the inside scoop", and focused on loving our family, living for God, and making a difference in our lives.Last, but not least, always remember that you will feel better about yourself and be a much happier person if you don't spread gossip. Also, remember that you should always rule with mercy, because there may come a day in your life that you may need mercy. Jesus said, "Unto the merciful, I will be merciful." I really believe that God will always protect me as long as I stay humble, practice mercy, and protect the names and reputations of others, even if they were wrong or it was true. The ultimate question to ask your friends and confidantes, "Is my name safe in your mouth?" If you are surrounded by talkers, gossipers, and rumor spreaders, then you would be wise to slowly escape their presence, because your name isn't safe with them. Who in the world understands or knows how to keep a confidence these days? It's a shame that none of us know who to trust or share our struggles, weaknesses, sins, or failures with, because by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow the entire world will know. Well, I can't answer for others, but I've a very strong value and conviction that if I swore to confidence, then it goes to my grave, and there isn't a person on earth that will ever hear what I promise to keep in confidence. You know we could save a lot more people and ministers if we were safe to be open with each other and not worry about being destroyed by a rumor spreader or gossiper. Always remember, "Great people talk about great ideas, average people talk about average ideas, and small people talk about other people."
Matt Maddix
mjmaddix@aol.com
http://mattmaddixblogs.blogspot.com/
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