If you clicked over from Encouragement for Today I’m glad you’re here. Below is an article I pulled from my book “Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl.” If you’d like to win 2 copies of my book, one for you and one for your friend, see below.
One day I got a phone message from a neighbor named Holly. She said that she knew I liked to run and suggested I give her a call if I ever wanted a running partner.
What I didn’t know until much later is that God had been prompting her to call me and wouldn’t let up until she did.
Holly and I did start running together and what began as a simple act of obedience on her part developed into a deep friendship. This was a huge answer to prayer, because I had been praying for a friend exactly like Holly.
Not only is Holly one of my closest friends, but she is also now my executive assistant. In other words, she keeps me straight on many levels, and I love every minute of it.
One day Holly gave me a unique gift that made my heart feel forever safe with her. Though it wasn’t costly to her, it became priceless to me. She committed to me that she would never say anything dishonoring about me. It was more than just a commitment to me; it was a covenant promise she’d made with God. I can’t even express what peace this brought to my heart.
It’s not that I feared my other friends were gossiping about me. I did not. And I can’t say that my other friends wouldn’t make this same promise. They probably would. But Holly verbalized this commitment boldly—in a way that has defined our friendship and built a beautiful trust rare between women.
Since we know the tsunami-type destruction gossip can cause, why is carelessly tossing out hurtful words about others so alluring? Gossip is easy to slip into and hard to walk away from.
If we just assume we won’t be tempted to gossip, we are fooling ourselves and potentially setting ourselves up for trouble. Verbalizing to a friend that she can trust we will never betray her puts action wisdom Bible teaches us about our words:
“He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity” (Proverbs 21:23).
Before I get together with friends, I do two things: I consciously decide not to utter a negative comment or “piece” of gossip I might have heard, and I prepare in advance some positive discussion items. Instead of hoping conversation with friends goes in a healthy direction, why not help steer the conversation?
Imagine the number of relationship issues that would simply vanish if we were all more committed to loving words. Why not commit today to make this kind of love a reality with those you care about?
Not only was I encouraged by Holly’s commitment to never say anything dishonoring about me, I was challenged by it as well.
Refusing to gossip is a rare and beautiful gift. Would you like to join me in accepting this challenge by making the same promise? It not only makes friendships richer but, more importantly, it makes our relationship with the Lord more authentic and believable. We honor God when we honor each other.
I’m giving away 3 friendship packs today – 2 copies of “Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl“. Please leave a comment below telling us who you are going to commit to making this same friendship challenge with.
