October 23, 2025 | Be God's Family
Keeping Someone Safe in Your Mouth
Scripture: James 4:11-12(NIV)
11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?
Devotional
Is it wrong to speak negatively about what another person is doing or saying? The answer is that it depends.
At times it may be appropriate or even necessary to speak critically. One example is to instruct or warn a child or others of a wrongful pattern of behavior or thinking that they observe. A second example is to speak directly to an obvious wrongdoer about the problem (see Matthew 18:15-17).
It is a different matter, however, when one takes delight in putting down another person, or when one is quick to spread rumors which may not even be true.
So what is the difference between the constructive criticism and the destructive type of criticism that verses 11 and 12 address? The difference lies in the motivation of the speaker. The constructive critique wants the best for the person in question, loving his neighbor as himself, and hoping for redemption and reconciliation as needed. By contrast the negative critique is indifferent at best and happy to try to play the role of judge at worst.
Poem
Do No Bear False Witness
Proverbs 26
Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy; do you want junk like that in your belly? Smooth talk from an evil heart is like glaze on cracked pottery. Your enemy shakes hands and greets you like an old friend, all the while plotting against you. When he speaks warmly to you, don’t believe him for a minute; he’s just waiting for the chance to rip you off. No matter how shrewdly he conceals his malice, eventually his evil will be exposed in public. Malice backfires; spite boomerangs. Liars hate their victims; flatterers sabotage trust.
Proverbs 26: 22-28
The ninth commandment speaks quite plain
Do not e’er bear false witness
To speak forth lies, slander, liable
Is crucifying business
For with one lie, like wrecking ball,
Integrity will crumble
A lifelong quest to gain deep trust
Will fall and lay in rubble
So hold your tongue, do not destroy
Another’s place and station
Do not keep company with those
Who ruin reputations
