Pulelulu Me 26, 2021
You shall not go around as a slanderer among your
people
‘E ‘ikai te ke ‘alu fano ‘i he lotolotonga ‘o ho kakai ke fakakovi
(v. 16-17) 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord. 17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.
(v. 16-17) 16 ‘E ‘ikai te ke ‘alu fano ‘i he lotolotonga ‘o ho kakai ke fakakovi: pea ‘e ‘ikai te ke kumi ki he toto ‘o ho kaungā‘api: ko Sihova au. 17 ‘E ‘ikai te ke tauhi ‘i ho loto ‘a e fehi‘a ki ho tokoua: te ke mātu‘aki valoki si‘i kāinga ko ia, ‘o ‘oua ‘e fua hia koe‘uhi ko ia.
*Morning Devotion: Charles Haddon Spurgeon *
19:16, 17
Tale-bearing emits a threefold poison; for it injures the teller, the hearer, and the person concerning whom the tale is told. Whether the report be true or false, we are by this precept of God's Word forbidden to spread it. The reputations of the Lord's people should be very precious in our sight, and we should count it shame to help the devil to dishonour the Church and the name of the Lord. Some tongues need a bridle rather than a spur. Many glory in pulling down their brethren, as if thereby they raised themselves. Noah's wise sons cast a mantle over their father, and he who exposed him earned a fearful curse. We may ourselves one of these dark days need forbearance and silence from our brethren, let us render it cheerfully to those who require it now. Be this our family rule, and our personal bond - SPEAK EVIL OF NO MAN.
The Holy Spirit, however, permits us to
censure sin, and prescribes the way in which we are to do it. It must be done
by rebuking our brother to his face, not by railing behind his back. This
course is manly, brotherly, Christlike, and under God's blessing will be useful.
Does the flesh shrink from it? Then we must lay the greater stress upon our
conscience, and keep ourselves to the work, lest by suffering sin upon our
friend we become ourselves partakers of it. Hundreds have been saved from gross
sins by the timely, wise, affectionate warnings of faithful ministers and
brethren. Our Lord Jesus has set us a gracious example of how to deal with
erring friends in His warning given to Peter, the prayer with which He preceded
it, and the gentle way in which He bore with Peter's boastful denial that he
needed such a caution.
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