Pointing Finger and Malicious Talk

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8.

It is easy to think of things which satisfy our flesh. Wanting to feel superior in our beliefs we point to other’s beliefs and explain how they are wrong, rather than examining ourselves for error. The Bible tells us all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 2:23) If we commit one sin we have committed them all. (James 2:10) But somehow, we are slow to remember those things and quick to point our finger.

In Isaiah 58 God says he will hear our call for help if only we will put away the pointing finger and malicious talk. Even in ancient Israel people were pointing their fingers at others. It is a product of our human flesh to distract ourselves by searching for other people’s faults. Or to blame other people for what is wrong in the world around us, when we don’t know how to fix a situation. It feels better to blame someone else rather than to admit our confusion and lack of ability. This originates from our flesh which includes acts of hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy. (Galatians 5:19-21) All of these are motivations to finger pointing.

God calls us to put away things of the flesh and to walk in the freedom of the God’s love. (Galatians 5:13-15) To love one another. If we continue to fight with each other we will be destroying ourselves. If we continue to talk about how others are the real problem, in the end we hurt ourselves and our walk with God. We are called to develop the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Controlling the tongue can be one of the most difficult fruits to develop in our lives.

Fruit growing on trees requires time to develop, sunshine and water, fertilizer and pruning.  In our lives the fruits of the spirit require time to develop, prayer and bible study, discipline and determination. When finding ourselves pointing a finger at someone or speaking from the flesh, we should stop and take a deep breath. Say a prayer to God for help. Then choose to speak differently. Chose to speak from the spirit not the flesh.

Keep your tongue from uttering malicious talk. If you want to live a life with good days you will learn to guard your tongue. (1 Peter 3:10) As Philippians 4:8 directs us, find something pure, lovely, or praiseworthy to say. Practice speaking well of others. If you can’t find anything good to say then offer a prayer for the person’s wellbeing. Praise God for the good things in your life. Ask God to guide you in the difficult areas of your life. Memorize and repeat scripture to remind yourself of God’s guidance.

Dear Lord, you are holy and worthy of all praise. From you we learn how to speak and how to love others. Teach us O lord to speak the words you want to hear. Show us how to change from malicious talk and pointing fingers to talk that is lovely, admirable, and praiseworthy. Call to our minds your words in the Bible. Lead us in all we say and do.